Download Terminology: The Parts of a Plant

Matthew Boggs
Aaron Seigler
Victor Makali
Gordon Gulledge

A seed is a fertilized, ripened ovule of a
gymnosperm or angiosperm.
• Ovule- In plants, a structure that contains a gametophyte
and, within the gametophyte, an egg; when it matures, an
ovule becomes a seed.
• Angiosperm- Plants with ovules, enclosed in an ovary.
• Gymnosperm- a vascular plant whose seeds are not in an
ovary.
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A fruit is a ripened and mature ovary containing
seeds.
• Ovary- Any female organ, that produces an egg.
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
Angiosperms:
Examples- tomatoes, roses, walnuts, oranges
Gymnosperms:
Examples- shrubs, some wild flowers, giant
Sequoia’s
(Source- Dictionary.com)
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Seed Coat
Cotyledon- an embryonic organ that stores and digests reserve
materials.
Shoot Apex
Root Apex
Endosperm- contains stored nutrients for the developing embryo.
•
Is a triploid or has three sets of DNA 3n.
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
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Exocarp
Mesocarp
Endocarp
The “Pericarp” is the collective term for the above
components of a fruit.
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
Since some plants do not produce seeds, they must
reproduce asexually. The two types of plants that
reproduce asexually are sporophytes and
gametophytes.
 Sporophytes – The spore-producing phase in the life cycle
of a plant that exhibits alternation of generations.
Example: Mosses
 Gametophytes – The gamete-producing phase in a plant
characterized by alternation of generations.
Example: Willows
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
The “above ground” part of the plant, known as the
shoot system starts to grow once the root system as
established secure anchoring.
The growth of the shoot system occurs at the shoot
meristem. This is where mitosis cell division occurs.
These cells can be omnipotent, totipotent, or
pluripotent.
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Mitosis- Division leading to the formation of two daughter cells.
Meristem- Plant tissue made up of undifferentiated actively dividing cells.
Omnipotent- Can virtually change into any type of cell.
Totipotent- Can give rise to every type of cell.
Pluripotent- Can differentiate into a limited number of cell types.
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
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Stems
Leaves
Nodes and Internodes
- a node is the point on a stem where a leaf is or was
attached.
- an internode is the region between two nodes.
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
A Plant is able to determine which way is up
through the use of photoreceptors. These
photoreceptors direct the plants grow towards a
stimulus; stimuli include light.
Photoreceptors- a sensory receptor cell that senses and
responds to light energy.
Once direction has been determined, the growth of
the plant is regulated by hormones; similar to how
hormones regulate growth in animals.
Animals – example of a hormone: Testosterone
Plants hormones– Auxins and Gibberellins
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
The upper parts of the plant depend on the
roots to provide water and dissolved minerals
collected from the soil.
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
The root depends on the upper part of the plant to
produce sugars and other organic substances
through photosynthesis.
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
The Shoot System and Root System are connected
through two sets of vascular tissues(Xylem and
Phloem) that transport resources back and forth.
 Xylem- the vascular tissue that conducts/transports
water and dissolved minerals in plants upward.
 Phloem- the vascular tissue that
conducts/transports dissolved sugars and other
organic compounds in plants up and down.
(Source- Life: The Science of Biology)
 Dictionary.com
 Sadava, David, David
Hillis, William K.
Purves, H. C. Heller, and Gordon H.
Orians. Life : The Science of Biology. 8th
ed. Boston: W. H. Freeman & Company,
2006.
 “Plants Know the Way to Grow.”Fast
Plants. 1995.
http://www.fastplants.org/pdf/activities/
know_the_way.pdf