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Introduction
„ Biology is the study of Life (Bios =
life, logos=knowledge)
„
Plant Biology or Botany is the part
of Biology that studies plants.
„ Ethnobotany (Ethno= man) is the
part of plant Biology that studies the
uses and relationships between man
and plants.
Living things are classified into
three domains:
ƒArcheae (old bacteria)
ƒEubacteria (new bacteria)
with nucleated cells.
ƒ Eukarya: multicellular
organisms with nucleated cells.
The domain Eukarya is classified
into four kindgoms:
Protista: Single cells organisms, including
algae.
Fungi: Includes mushrooms, mildews,
yeasts and molds.
Plantae: Multicellular autotroph organisms.
Animalia: Multicellular heterotroph
organisms.
Plant Structure
„
The basic morphology of plants reflects that
plants draw resources from two very different
environments: the soil and the air.
„
Plants have evolved two systems: a
subterranean root system to obtain water and
minerals from the soil and an aerial shoot
system of stems and leaves used to transform
light into chemical energy (food).
„
The Root system anchors the plant in the
soil, absorbs minerals and water, and stores
food.
„
The shoot systems consists of stems and
leaves. And they may be vegetative (leaf
bearing) or reproductive (flower bearing).
Plant Systematics
and
Classification
A. Plants without true vascular tissue...................Bryophytes (Mosses)
A'. Plants with vascular tissues (xylem and phloem)...................... B
B. Plants without seeds ...............................Ferns and club mosses
B'. Plants with seeds......................................................................C
C. Plants without .................Gymnosperms (Conifers and Evergreens)
flowers.
C'. Flowering Plants............ Angiosperms
D. Magnoliopsida (DICOTS)
D'. Liliopsida (MONOCOTS)
Kingdom Plantae
„
„
Evolutionary tree of plants
From primitiveÆ advanced traits
Bryophytes
Ferns
Gymnosperms
FlowersÆ
Seeds Æ
Green
alga
ancestor
Vascular Æ
Terrestrial Æ
Angiosperms
„
„
A. Plants without true vascular
tissue...................Bryophytes (Mosses)
A'. Plants with vascular tissues (xylem and
phloem)...................... B
Species of Sphagnum have been used for external
medical treatment as wound dressings, a use that has
been documented to have taken place since the ice
ages and continued on a large scale well into the 20th
century during both world wars. Dried Sphagnum is
highly absorbent and, and it is wound-healing. The
properties of Sphagnum holocellulose (“sphagnan”, a
kind of pectin), acts by immobilizing bacterial cells and
depriving them of their nutrients.”
Decaying Sphagnum is also the major component of
peat, which is "mined" for use as a fuel, as a
horticultural soil additive, and in smoking malt in the
production of Scotch whisky.
Arctic people used mosses for bedding. North
American tribal people used mosses for basketry,
bedding, wound dressing, diapers, and menstrual
fluid absorption.
Circumpolar and alpine people used mosses as
insulation in boots and mittens.
Tribes of northeastern United States and southeastern
Canada used moss to fill chinks in wooden
longhouses.
Tribes of the Pacific Northwest in the US and Canada
used mosses to clean salmon prior to drying, and
packed wet moss into pit ovens for steaming camas
bulbs. Food storage baskets and boiling baskets
were also packed with mosses.
All information above from Kimmerer, Robin Wall (2003). Gathering Moss
A'. Plants with vascular tissues (xylem and phloem).... B
B. Plants without seeds ..Ferns and club mosses
(Pteridophyta)
B'. Plants with seeds.....................................C
Edible Ferns: Some ferns are
used for food, including the
fiddleheads of bracken,
Pteridium aquilinum, ostrich fern,
Matteuccia struthiopteris, and
cinnamon fern, Osmunda
cinnamomea.
The underground organs or
Tubers from the King Fern or
para (Ptisana salicina) are a
traditional food in New Zealand
and the South Pacific. Fern
tubers were also used for food
30,000 years ago in Europe. Still
practiced in the Canary Island
where they used ground Fern
tubers to make gofio (type of
bread)
„
„
„
Many ferns are grown in horticulture as
landscape plants, for cut foliage, for the
florist’s market and as houseplants.
Examples: Boston fern (Nephrolepis
exaltata), and the Florist Fern (Rumohra
adiantiformis). Bird's Nest Fern (Asplenium
nidus) is also popular as a house plant.
Ferns have been studied and found to be
useful in the removal of heavy metals,
especially arsenic, from the soil.
Dryopteris filix-mas (male fern), The root was
used, until recent times, as an anthelmintic to
expel tapeworms, but no any longer. The
anthelmintic activity has been claimed to be
due to flavaspidic acid. The plant is
sometimes referred to in ancient literature as
Worm Fern.
B'. Plants with seeds............................C
C. Plants without flowers ........Gymnosperms (Conifers
and Evergreens)
„
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There are between 700 and 900 species of
gymnosperms
Gymnosperms have major economic uses. Pine, fir,
spruce, and cedar are all examples of conifers that are
used for lumber.
Gymnosperms are the source of many useful oils which
are extracted for soaps and disinfectants. They also
have many medicinal uses, including taxol from Yews,
which is used in treating ovarian cancer.
Gymnosperms are also very important ecologically as
they provide food and shelter for numerous animals and
insects. Gymnosperms prevent soil erosion in forests
and are important in the fight against climate change as
they help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air.
Some other common uses for gymnosperms are soap,
varnish, nail polish, paints, and perfumes.
C'. Flowering Plants............ Angiosperms (Anthophyta)
D. Magnoliopsida (DICOTS)
D'. Liliopsida (MONOCOTS)
„
„
„
With about 250,000 known species, the
angiosperms are by far the most diverse and
widespread group of land plants.
As primary producers, flowering plants are at the
base of the food web of nearly every terrestrial
ecosystem.
Most land animals, including humans, depend on
plants directly or indirectly for sustenance.
Monocot vs. dicot
„
„
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Angiosperms are divided into monocots and
dicots
As the zygote grows into the embryo, the first
leaves of the young body develop and are
referred as cotyledons (seed leaves)
Monocots have one cotyledon; include corn, lily,
etc.
Dicots have two cotyledons; bean oak, etc.
Monocot vs. dicot
„
Number of cotyledons: one vs. two
Monocot vs. dicot
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Leaf venation pattern:
Monocot is parallel
Dicot is net pattern
Monocot vs. dicot
„
Monocot: Fibrous root
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Dicot: Tap root
Monocot vs. dicot
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Flower parts:
„
Monocot: in groups of three
„
Dicot: in groups of four or five
Monocot vs. dicot
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Vascular bundle position
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Monocot: scattered
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Dicot: arranged in a circle
Monocot vs. dicot
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Stem type:
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Monocot: Herbaceous
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Dicot: herbaceous or woody
Summary: Monocot vs. dicot
Comparing monocot vs. dicot
plants
FEATURE
MONOCOTS
DICOTS
Cotyledons
1
2
Leaf venation
parallel
broad
Root system
Fibrous
Tap
In 3’s
In 4’s or 5’s
Scattered
Arranged in a
circle
Either
Number of
floral parts
Vascular
bundle position
Woody or
herbaceous
Herbaceous
What is a species?
Species: a set of individuals that are closely related
by descent from a common ancestor and
ordinarily can reproduce with each other, but
not with members of any other species.
Biological species: group of interbreeding
populations. Offspring are fertile.
Species name
Each species has a single correct scientific name in
Latin called a binomial (two names) – it is always
italicized or underlined.
First name is genus name.
Second name is species name
Human: Homo sapiens
Cat:
Felis catus
Dog: Canis familiaris
Wolf: Canis lupus
Examples
Genus of maple trees is Acer
It has many species including:
Common name
“Red maple”
“Sugar maple”
“Black maple”
Scientific name
Acer rubrum
Acer saccharum
Acer nigrum
Taxonomic hierarchy
Species that have many characteristics in common
are grouped into a genus.
Related genera that share combinations of traits are
grouped into families.
Families are grouped into orders.
Orders into classes
Classes into divisions (or phyla for animals)
Related divisions/phyla are grouped into kingdoms
(e.g. house, street, city, county, state, country, continent, planet)