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Plants
Vocab:
cuticle
vascular tissue
zygote
nonvascular plant
vascular plant
sporophyte
gametophyte
autotroph
eukaryotote
There are many strange plants throughout the world. Some
plants trap animals, some bloom only once every thirty
years, and some have flowers that smell like rotting meat!
You interact with plants every day, when you eat, when
you see moss on a tree or plants in a pond. All plants, even
the strange ones have things in common.
What is a Plant? -Plants belong to the Kingdom plantea,
they share several characteristics. Nearly all plants are
autotrophs, organisms that produce their own food. All
plants are eukaryotes that contain many cells.
Plants are autotrophs, a sun powered food-making
factory. Sunlight provides the energy for this food making
process, photosynthesis. Plants are multicellular, with cells
organized into tissues. Plants vary in size from the tiniest
moss to the largest redwood tree.
Adaptations for Living on Land- Most plants live on land
but some live in water. The algae obtain water and nutrients
directly from the water. Water also gives them a place to
grow and when these plants reproduce the sperm cells
swim through the water to the egg cells.

For plants to survive on land, they must have
o a way to get water and nutrients from their
environment,
o to retain or hold onto the water so they don’t
dry out,
o a way to transport materials in their bodies,
o a way to support their bodies giving them a
place to grow, and
o a way to reproduce.
 To live on land plants must have adaptations to
survive. They need a way to get water and
nutrients from the soil.
Why is obtaining water and nutrients easy for water plants?
Retaining Water- One adaption that helps a plant reduce
water loss is a waxy layer called a cuticle which covers the
leaves of most plants.
Transporting Materials.-Plants need to transport materials
from one part of its body to another. In small plants it is
easy for materials to move from one cell to the next. Large
plants need a more effective system. These plants have
transport tissues called vascular tissues. These tissues are
tube like structures inside a plant that water, minerals and
food move.
Humans also have a tube like structures to transport
important fluids. Can you name them?
Support- A plants food making parts must be exposed to as
much sun as possible. Rigid cell walls and vascular tissue
strengthen and support the bodies of these plants so they
are best exposed to the light.
Reproduction- All plants go through sexual reproduction
that involves fertilization, the joining of a sperm cell with
an egg cell. A zygote is the fertilized egg. For some plants
the sperm cell swims through the water. Other plants have
adapted to their environments and use different methods of
fertilization.
Classifying Plants
Scientists “informally” group plants into two major
groups: non-vascular and vascular.
Nonvascular Plants - Nonvascular plants lack a welldeveloped system of tubes for transporting materials. (non
= not, vascular = tubes to transport fluids) Growing in
damp shady places these plants are low growing and don’t
have roots. They absorb what they need directly from their
environment. These materials pass through the cell walls
into the cells. This is a slow process compared to vascular
transport. The cell walls are thin and can not support a tall
plant, most of these plants are only a few centimeters tall.
Vascular Plants - Plants with defined vascular tissues are
called vascular plants. Vascular plants are able to
transport materials over greater distances efficiently and
quickly. The vascular tissues also provide support. These
plants can grow very tall.
Plant Origins- The oldest plant fossils are about 400
million years old. These plants already had many
adaptations such as vascular tissue. Through chemical
analysis of different plants, such as the specific make up of
chlorophyll, as well as genetic testing, has lead scientists to
hypothesize that ancient green algae is the ancestor of
today’s modern plants. Some scientists think that green
algae should be classified as a plant. Some plants, such as
the Gingko tree, and many others have been around since
prehistoric times.
Complex Life Cycles -Plants have complex lifecycles that
include two different stages, the sporophyte stage and
the gametophyte stage.
 In the sporophyte stage (SPOH ruh fite) stage,
the plant produces spores. Spores are tiny cells
that grow into new organisms. Spores develop
into the plants next stage, the gametophyte stage.
 In the Gametophyte stage (guh MEE tuh fyt) the
plant produces sperm cells and egg cells.
The sperm cell and egg cell then combine to form a zygote.
The zygote develops into sporophyte. The sporophyte
produces spores which develop into the gametophyte which
produce sperm and egg cells…..the sporophyte looks very
different from the gametophyte.
Characteristics of Seed Plants
Vocab:
phloem
xylem
pollen
seed
embryo
cotyledon
germination
root cap
cambium
transportation
photosynthesis
Parvis e glandibus quercus, a Latin proverb translates to
"mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow.". Did you ever
wonder how that happens?
What is a Seed Plant?- Seed plants outnumber seedless
plants by more than ten to one. We eat many seed plants,
rice, squash, tomatoes, peas, and squash are all see plants.
We even wear cloths made from seed plants like cotton and
flax. Many homes are made from see plants, oak, pine,
maple trees, and in some country people “thatch” their
roofs with thatch which is a grass. We breathe oxygen that
is produced mainly by seed plants.
Seed plants share two very important characteristics
1. They have vascular tissue
2. they use pollen and seeds to reproduce.
They also have roots, stems (bodies), and leaves. Some
have complex life cycles that include the sporophyte and
gametophyte stages. The gametophytes are microscopic,
the plants are the sporophytes.
The vascular tissue helps support the plant as well as
transports nutrients. There are two types of vascular tissue.
Phloem (FLOH um) vascular tissue transports food from
the leaves to the rest of the plant. Water and minerals travel
through vascular tissue called xylem, (ZY lum) from the
roots to the top of the plant where the stems and leaves are.
Pollen and Seeds- Seed plants can live in many
environments. They produce pollen, a tiny structure that
later becomes sperm cells. Once the sperm cell fertilizes the
egg, seeds develop. A seed contains a young plant inside a
protective covering; the covering helps young plants from
drying out.
How Seeds Become New Plants- All seeds are similar.
Inside each seed is a partially developed plant. If the seed
lands in an environment with favorable conditions it will
begin to grow.
Seed Structure-A seed has three main parts:
1. Embryo: stores the beginning of roots, stems, and
leaves. Uses the food stored in the seed until it can
make its own food through photosynthesis.
2. The embryo has one or more seed leaves called
cotyledons (kaht uh LEED unz) in some plants food is
stored in the cotyledons, in other is it stored outside
the embryo.
3. The outer covering is the seed coat. The covering
protects the seed like plastic saran wrap protects food.
It keeps moisture in allowing the seed to remain
inactive for long periods of time until it is in the
perfect environment for germination. In many plants
fruit surrounds seeds.
Seed Dispersal.- The scattering of seeds is called dispersal.
Seeds are dispersed in many ways.
1. Other organisms eat the fruit around the seeds and also
consume the seeds. The seed travels through the digestive
system and are deposited in new areas.
2. Some seeds have barb like structures and “hitch hike” a ride
on an organism to a new spot.
3. Some seeds travel in water, across oceans (like coconuts) or
swept downstream.
4. Lightweight seeds can be carried in the wind. Some of these
seeds have structures to help them travel away from the
parent plant.
5. Some plants eject their seeds; the force scatters the seeds in
many directions.
6. Being far away from the parent plant so it does not have to
compete for light, food and water helps to increase the
survival of the new plant.
Germination- When the conditions are right a seed will
germinate. The seed absorbs water from the environment
allowing the embryo to absorb food and start to grow.
Germination (jur muh NAY shun) occurs when the embryo
begins to grow and pushes out of the seed. First the root
pushes downward. Next the stem and leaves push upward.
Once you see the leaves the plant is called a seedling.
Roots - There are 2 major root systems. Fibrous root
system is made up of a tangled dense mass of similarly
sized roots. When you pull these plants, such as grass, out
of the ground they bring a lot of soil up with the root
system. A taproot system has one thick main root with
smaller roots branching out from the main root. This kind
of root system is difficult to pull out of the ground. Carrots
have a tap root.
Root Structure- The root cap is a rounded tip at the end of
the root that protects the root from injuring itself as it
grows. Behind the root cap are cells that divide quickly to
form new root cells. Root hairs grow out of the root and
enter the soil to absorb water and nutrients and to anchor
the plant in the soil. The absorbed material is transferred to
the vascular tissue (xylem) where it is transported up into
the plant. From the leaves the vascular tissue (phloem)
transports the food back to the root tissue to be stored or
fuel plant growth.
Stems- Stems carry substances between stems and
leaves, provide support and hold the leaves up so they
are exposed to the sun. Some stems also make food… do
you like asparagus?
Stems can be herbaceous (hur Bay shus) or woody.
 Herbaceous stems are often soft and contain no wood.
 Woody stems are hard and rigid. Woody stem has an
outer layer of protective bark surrounding a layer of
cambium (KAM bee um) which divide to produce
vascular tissues. At the center of the wood is the heart,
it is darker and has become hard. It does not transport
fluids but it does provide support. When you look at a
tree stump you can see the each ring, one ring is
created each year of the trees life. Count the rings and
you can see how old the tree is.
Each contains both kinds of vascular tissue as well as other
supportive cells.
Leaves- Leaves of all shapes and sizes capture the suns
energy and carry out photosynthesis.
The top and bottom layer of the leaf protect the inside of
the leaf. The cells on the inside are surrounded by vascular
tissues or veins. The surface of the leaf has stoma. Stoma
are pores that allow substances into (CO2) and out of ( O2,
H20) the leaf. Stoma translated to mouth but don’t look like
a mouth.
The Leaf and Photosynthesis- The leaf is a perfect
structure for carrying out photosynthesis. Chloroplasts are
near the upper surface to collect the most sunlight most
efficiently.
Carbon dioxide enters the leaf through the stoma, water
travels up from the roots through the xylem to the leaf. The
chloroplast absorbs sunlight/energy. The leaf then uses the
carbon dioxide and water to produce sugar (usable energy)
that travels through the phloem to the rest of the plant, and
oxygen, that is released back through the stoma into the air.
Controlling Water Loss- The leaf has a large surface
exposed to the air, to keep moisture from evaporating,
transpiration; too quickly the leaf can close the stomata.
Pine needles have less area exposed to the elements and a
thick waxy coating to help protect them and keep them
moist.
The Structure of Flowers : The function of all flowers is
reproduction. All flowers no matter what they smell like or
look like have the same parts.
 Sepals and petals when a flower is a bud it is
covered by leaf like structures called sepals
which are often green. Under the sepals are the
colorful petals. The shape, size and color will
vary between varieties of flowers.
 Stamen inside the petals are the reproductive
parts of the flower. The stamen is male
reproductive parts. They produce the pollen and
make sure it is released where it can be
transferred to the female parts.
 Pistils found in the center of most flowers, they
are the female parts of the flower. Some flowers
have one pistil, some have two.
 Pollinators organisms that transfer pollen from
the male parts of a flower to the female parts.
Birds, bats, insects. Some are attracted by the
odor of the flower, some flowers smell sweet but
some smell bad.
The flower parts:
Flower part
Petal
Stigma
Style
Ovary
Part function
Petals are used to attract insects into the flower;
they may have guidelines on them and be
scented. They are brightly colored, some
polinators are attracted to certain colors, other
pollinators are attracted by scent.
Is covered in a sticky substance that the pollen
will stick to.
The style raises the stigma away from the Ovary
to decrease the likelihood of pollen contamination.
It varies in length.
This protects the ovule and once fertilization has
taken place it will become the fruit. Contains one
or more ovule.
Ovule
The Ovule is the egg and once fertilization has taken place
will become the seed.
Receptacle
This is the flower's attachment to the stalk and in some
cases becomes part of the fruit after fertilization e.g.
strawberry.
Flower stalk
Gives support to the flower and elevates the flower for the
insects, transports nutrients from the roots to the flower.
Nectary
This is where a sugary solution called nectar is held to
attract insects.
Sepal
Sepals are small leaf like structures; they protect
the flower while the flower is developing from a
bud.
This is the stalk of the Anther.
Filament
Anther
The Anthers contain pollen sacs where pollen is
produced. The sacs release pollen on to the
outside of the anthers that brush against insects
on entering the flowers. The pollen once
deposited on the insect is transferred to the
stigma of another flower or the same flower. The
ovule is then able to be fertilized.
Pistils
Stamen
The female reproductive part of the flower. The parts
of the pistils are the sticky stigma, the slender tube
called the style, and the hollow structure called the
ovary at the base
Male reproductive part of the flower. Pollen is
produced in the anther held high up on the
filament
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Note:
The stigma, style, ovary, and ovule are often known
collectively as the carpel or female parts of the flower.