LESSON 5: Vascular seed plants (gymnosperms)

Question 1

What are the 4 phyla of gymnosperms?

Answer 1

Conifers, cycads, ginkoes, gnetophytes

Question 2

Where were the earliest fossils identified as hymnosperms found (410 mya)?

Answer 2

In Devonian rocks

Question 3

What 3 important reproductive adaptations are included in gymnosperms?

Answer 3

1) Pollen and pollination
2) Ovule
3) Seed

Question 4

Give 2 characteristics of gymnosperms.

Answer 4

1) They form woody cones (strobili)
2) They have needle-like leaves adapted to dry environments

Question 5

What is specific about the needles of gymnosperms? What does those 3 characteristics help reduce?

Answer 5

They have a reduced number of stomata (sunken stomata), a thicker cuticle and a fibrous epidermis. Those traits help reduce the loss of water vapor.

Question 6

Are cycads dioecious? How do they bear their gametes?

Answer 6

Yes, they are dioecious meaning that the female and male plants are separate. Some of them have massive cones that bear either pollen or ovules.

Question 7

Are conifers monoecious or dioecious?

Answer 7

They are monoecious, meaning that both male and female are present in the same tree.

Question 8

Where do ginkoes grow today?

Answer 8

Only in warm temperate forests of central China.

Question 9

What do ginko leaves consist of?

Answer 9

Fused needles

Question 10

How old are the first ginko fossils?

Answer 10

270 mya

Question 11

Are ginkoes dioecious are monoecious?

Answer 11

They are dioecious meaning that there is a male and a female plant.