Plant diversity Flashcards
What are plants classified in?
Bryophytes
Pteridophytes
Gymnosperms
Angiosperms
what are the key characteristics of plants?
Presence/ absence of:
vascular tissue
true leaves and roots
seeds or spores
cones or flowers
fruit
What are non-vascular plants?
Without vascular system: xylem and phloem. e.g) Bryophytes
What are Bryophytes?
Simplest land plants evolved from green algae.
Seedless, non vascular plants
Go dormant in a dry environment
Where are Bryophytes most common?
Damp areas: dependent on water because they have motile sperm
Do Bryophytes have vascular tissue?
No
No strengthening tissue: stay small
Do Bryophytes have true leaves or roots?
No
Have rhizoids (outgrowth) to anchor
Simple leaf like, with chlorophyll for pss
no cuticle: water absorbed through surface of whole plant
Why are Bryos dependent on water for fertilisation?
Motile sperm need water to swim and reach female gamete(egg)
What does it mean if bryos don’t have any vascular tissue?
No strengthening tissue therefore will stay small
diffusion
Why do bryophytes have no true leaves or roots?
they have no vascular tissue
What are rhizoids and their function?
Outgrowths of stem to anchor the plant
What does it mean if a bryophyte doesn’t have true leaves or roots?
have rhizoids
simple leaf-like, with chlorophyll for photosynthesis
no cuticle, so water absorbed through surface of whole plant.
Explain bryophytes fertilisation process.
Fertilisation —> forms zygote—>embryo grows immediately —>into a sporophyte
How do bryos reproduce?
By spores produced in the sporangium of sporophyte
What is a spore?
A minute, typically one-celled, reproductive unit capable of giving rise to a new individual without sexual fusion—> it is a characteristic of lower plants, fungi and protozoans
It is also a haploid reproductive cell which gives rise to a gametophyte.
What does the alternation of generations mean?
Type of life cycle that occurs in those plants that have a distinct haploid(n) and diploid(2n) stages.
Explain the alternation of generations with moss.
Mosses are homosporous (all spores are the same):
Spores all develop into one type of gametophyte.
amongst the tiny “leaves” of the moss plant/gametophyte are simple male sex organs producing motile spend cells, and simple female organs, producing and egg cell.
Two gamete’s fuse to form a zygote that develops into an embryo—> embryo grows immediately into sporophyte.
What is the function of vascular tissue being made up of xylem and phloem?
To transport water and food around the plant.
What is the advantage that vascular plants have?
Adaptation that allows plants to cope in a dry environment and to grow taller?
What is a true leaf?
Organised inside for max sunlight, increase absorption of CO2 for pss.
Dense network of veins containing xylem supplies water for pss, phloem removes sugars.
Waterproof covering, cuticle and stomata—> regulate gas exchange.
What is a true root?
Absorb water and minerals from soil.
Root hairs absorb raw materials for pss
Taken via xylem to leaves
Efficient absorption as no water is lost through the whole plant.
Plants grow faster and taller.
What two categories are vascular plants split between?
Seedless plants: Lower vascular plants, reproduce by spores, Pteridophytes
Seed bearing plants: Higher vascular plants, reproduce by seeds, gymnosperms.
Example of seedless plants?
Pteridophytes ( Ferns, horsetails and club mosses)
Do Pteridophytes have vascular tissue?
Yes meaning they can live in dryer places.
What does it mean when a Pteridophyte has true leaves and roots?
Leaves/ fronds well developed pss. Nee leaves coiled in bud
Roots fibrous: anchor and absorb water and minerals
Stems are horizontal- called rhizomes.
How do Pteridophytes reproduce?
By spores
Released from dehiscence sporangia that grow on back of sporophylls.
Occur in clusters called sori.