Plant Diversity Flashcards
A life cycle in which there is both a multicellular diploid form, the sporophyte, and a multicellular haploid form, the gametophyte; characteristic of plants and some algae.
alternation of generations
A flowering plant, which forms seeds inside a protective chamber called an ovary.
angiosperm
In an angiosperm, the terminal pollen sac of a stamen, where pollen grains containing sperm-producing male gametophytes form.
anther
In plants, the male gametangium, a moist chamber in which gametes develop.
antheridium
Embryonic plant tissue in the tips of roots and buds of shoots; its dividing cells enable the plant to grow in length.
apical meristem
In plants, the female gametangium, a moist chamber in which gametes develop.
archegonium
A member of one of three clades of early-diverging lineages of flowering plants; examples are Amborella, water lilies, and star anise and its relatives.
basal angiosperm
An informal name for a moss, liverwort, or hornwort; a nonvascular plant that lives on land but lacks some of the terrestrial adaptations of vascular plants.
bryophyte
The ovule-producing reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of the stigma, style, and ovary.
carpel
Member of the largest gymnosperm phylum; most are cone-bearing trees, such as pines and firs.
conifer
In angiosperms, the transfer of pollen from an anther of a flower on one plant to the stigma of a flower on another plant of the same species.
cross-pollination
A mechanism of fertilization in angiosperms in which two sperm cells unite with two cells in the female gametophyte (embryo sac) to form the zygote and endosperm.
double fertilization
The female gametophyte of angiosperms, formed from the growth and division of the megaspore into a multicellular structure that typically has eight haploid nuclei.
embryo sac
Alternate name for land plants that refers to their shared derived trait of multicellular, dependent embryos.
embryophyte
In angiosperms, a nutrient-rich tissue formed by the union of a sperm with two polar nuclei during double fertilization; provides nourishment to the developing embryo in angiosperm seeds.
endosperm
Member of a clade that contains the vast majority of flowering plants that have two embryonic seed leaves, or cotyledons.
eudicot
In an angiosperm, the stalk portion of the stamen, the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower.
filament
In an angiosperm, a specialized shoot with up to four sets of modified leaves, bearing structures that function in sexual reproduction.
flower
(1) The portion of a bryophyte sporophyte that gathers sugars, amino acids, water, and minerals from the parent gametophyte via transfer cells. (2) One of the three main parts of a mollusc; a muscular structure usually used for movement.
foot
A mature ovary of a flower; protects dormant seeds and often aids in their dispersal.
fruit
Multicellular plant structure in which gametes are formed; female types are called archegonia, and male types are called antheridia.
gametangium
In organisms (plants and some algae) that have alternation of generations, the multicellular haploid form that produces haploid gametes by mitosis. The haploid gametes unite and develop into sporophytes.
gametophyte
A vascular plant that bears naked seeds – seeds not enclosed in protective chambers.
gymnosperm
Referring to a plant species that has two kinds of spores: microspores, which develop into male gametophytes, and megaspores, which develop into female gametophytes.
heterosporous
Referring to a plant species that has a single kind of spore, which typically develops into a bisexual gametophyte.
homosporous
A small, herbaceous, nonvascular plant that is a member of the phylum Anthocerophyta.
hornwort
Layer of sporophyte tissue that contributes to the structure of an ovule of a seed plant.
integument
A hard material embedded in the cellulose matrix of vascular plant cell walls that provides structural support in terrestrial species.
lignin
A small, herbaceous, non-vascular plant that is a member of the phylum Hepatophyta.
liverwort
An informal name for a phylum which includes club mosses, spike mosses, and quillworts.
lycophyte
Member of the angiosperm clade that is most closely related to the combined eudicot and monocot clades; extant examples are magnolias, laurels, and black pepper plants.
magnoliid
A leaf with a highly branched vascular system, characteristic of the vast majority of vascular plants.
megaphyll
In lycophytes, a small leaf with a single unbranched vein.
microphyll
A pore in the integuments of an ovule.
micropyle
A spore from a heterosporous plant species that develops into a male gametophyte.
microspore
Member of a clade consisting of flowering plants that have one embryonic seed leaf, or cotyledon.
monocot
A small, herbaceous, nonvascular plant that is a member of the phylum Bryophyta.
moss
A mutualistic association of plant roots and fungus.
mycorrhiza
(1) In flowers, the portion of a carpel in which the egg-containing ovules develop. (2) In animals, the structure that produces female gametes and reproductive hormones.
ovary
A structure that develops within the ovary of a seed plant and contains the female gametophyte.
ovule
Extensive deposits of partially decayed organic material often formed primarily from the wetland moss Sphagnum.
peat
A ring of interlocking, tooth-like structures on the upper part of a moss capsule (sporangium), often specialized for gradual spore discharge.
peristome
A modified leaf of a flowering plant; are the often colourful part of a flower that advertise it to insects and other pollinators.
petal
Vascular plant tissue consisting of living cells arranged into elongated tubes that transport sugar and other organic nutrients throughout the plant.
phloem
In seed plants, a structure consisting of the male gametophyte enclosed within a pollen wall.
pollen grain