reproductive process, sugars, pollination exam 3

What do plants have the ability to do with sugar

they can partition sugar (glucose) for vegetative or reproductive growth. When they don’t have enough glucose they prioritize vegetative growth.

Dogwood not flowering story “beat it with a stick”

a man birades bryce about dogwood not blooming. An old woman comes by and says she got hers to flower by beating it with a stick, but because the tree was beaten it immediately used the sugars it had to flower (was responding to environmental stressor). so even though it flowered, it died and didn’t come back.

Edmund Schulman

A dendrochronologist who studies the width of growth rings and verifies events in history (climate events). discovered ancient bristlecone pine forest in california. passed away from a heart attack

Methuselah

bristlecone pine discovered in 1957 to be 5000 years old. national forest chose not to label it so people wouldn’t come and destory/take a piece

Increment borer

instrument used to bore through tree to see rings of growth. one ring = one year

Describe bristlecone pines

robust trees that have adapted to harsh environments. they survive in 4-5 inch of water a year/usually snow, monoculture soil, and cold windy temps.

A plant’s secret to longevity

they allow parts of themselves to die so the whole can live. plants are resilient!

How a tree prepares to be dormant

physical changes, internal water, condition of low respiration, abscission (fall off)

Abscission

trees lose leaves, chlorophyll breaks down and leaves fall off

What role do leaves play in the fall

they act as receptors for environmental stimuli. They record day length/temperature and fall off when days are shorter/temps cooler. they prepare for the ability to withstand the cold

Intercellular water

water located IN BETWEEN cells. Water can begin to freeze and cause injury, so the plant translocates water to roots to be used elsewhere

Intracellular water

water inside of the cells. during fall cell shrinks, as water moves out, cell goes dormant

fall color in summary

decreasing temperature and photo period stimulate the beginning of the formation of the abscission layer. change of flow of water and nutrients

How can trees obtain maximum red pigment

the right combination of sunlight and temperature is the key to maximum pigmented production

Anthocyanin

sugar-based pigment that is very sensitive to sunlight

Recipe for red pigment

warm sunny days (builds up sugar pools in leaf), cool clear nights (minimizes excess respiration), night temperatures below 40-45 degrees F stimulates the conversion of sugar to anthocyanin

Plants that don’t produce anthocyanin

ex: ginkgo biloba, don’t have the genetic mechanism to convert sugars to red fall color. Ginkgo trees all drop in about one night (10-12 hours)

best place in your yard to plant trees to trigger red leaves sooner/frequently

at the bottom of a hill (cool air sinks warm air rises)

Microclimate

varying temperatures in a small area, ex: slope, yellow leaves at the top, orange leaves in middle, red at the bottom

Sexual/reproductive parts

flowers, fruits, seeds

what are the 4 classic sexual flower parts

petal, stamen, sepal, pistil

Benefits of the petal

attracts pollinators with size and color (indirectly involved in sexual reproduction). also referred to as corolla.

Pistil

female part of the flower composed of stigma, style, and ovary

Stamen

male part of the flower composed of anther and filament

Emasculation

removing anthers from male part (stamen). done by plant breeders and florists. ex: florists removing orange anthers on lillies because the pigment stain clothing

Sepal

unfurl from the bud, no direct role in sex. also termed as the calyx

Sexual differences between stamen and pistil

stamen has pollen, pistil has eggs in the ovaries

what defines a “complete” flower

contains all four flower parts

what defines a “incomplete” flower

missing one or more flower parts

“Perfect” flower

Flowerings possessing both stamen and pistil. you can have a perfect complete OR incomplete flower

“Imperfect” Flower

flowers missing a sexual part

Pistillate flower

flowers with ONLY pistils

Staminate flower

flowers with only stamen

Monoecious

plants having separate male and female flowers on the same plant. One house (same plant) male and female parts living in the same house. there can be staminate and pistillate flowers on the same plant

Example of a monoecious plant

corn. the pollen (male) at the top of the corn plant falls onto the silks (female) at the side of the plant.

What are corn kernels

not the seeds but the fruit of the plant. when you eat corn on the cob, you’re eating fruit on a stick!

Dioecious

plants with male flowers on one plant and female flowers on another plant. two house same plant species.

example of a dioecious plant

red holly, desirable feature of fruit for display. so you plant male a little farther away from females so they still are pollinated. Undesirable feature: fruits of ginkgo biloba stinks like dog poop and melting butter, buy the males because the females are stinkyyyyy

Sexual reproduction functions

pollination and fertilization (pollination is the act, fertilization is the result)

pollination

pollen lands on stigma and is accepted

fertilization

male genetic information fuses with an egg in the ovary

List aids to pollination

wind, birds, mammals (bear! when a bear lumbers through meadows he pollinates flowers), water, humans, plants, insects

Plants that depend on wind/gravity pollination

pine trees and corn

inflorescence

cluster of flowers long and slender ex; butterfly bush

plant that pollinates itself

mountain laurel; male parts slingshot themselves

Hummingbirds as pollinators

feed their young insects, eat nectar/insects/pollen, they lap with their tongues, attracted to RED orangish flowers that are tubular/trumpet shaped and HIGH in nectar

nectar guides

patterns on plant pointing towards nectar. telling insect where the nectar is. acts as a “runway”

Self compatible

plants that accept their own pollen (self pollinate) AND can accept pollen from a different plant of the same species. Example: vegetables like tomato, beans, corn

Self incompatible

will ONLY accept foreign pollen. Foreign pollen means SAME species different kind (cultivars or varieties). example: fruits like apple, pear, plum

Can a tomato plant accept pollen from a potato flower

no, pollen won’t germinate

Why are are plant self-compatible and some are incompatible?

different genetic makeup

Germination

happens when pollen begins to grow a pollen tube after landing on an acceptable stigma OR when a seed germinates and sprouts a radicle

Fruit tree story

man at garden center wants to plant fruit trees. He wants one apple, one pear, one peach, and one plum. Bryce had to tell him that if you want to get fruit from your apple/pear/plum trees, you have to get ANOTHER of each because they are self incompatible and can not pollinate on their own. That doesn’t mean you can get two of the same apple tree, you have to get two different apple trees. Special cases: He only had to get one peach tree cause they are self compatible! He had to get TWO of the same color PLUMS because you can’t have a blue and a red plum

Name self-incompatible fruits

apple, pear, plum, sweet cherry

Name self compatible

peach, sour cherry, blueberry, grape

How to overcome self-incompatibility

“Mr. Roger Method”, Plant Pollinator tree, Bouquet method, grafting

“Mr. Roger Method” for solving self incompatibility

neighborhood method where you entice your neighbors to plant an apple tree so it can pollinate yours

Plant pollinator tree self incompatibility method

garden center guy: get another apple tree just not the same one 

Bouquet method solving incompatibility

Cut off branches of another cultivar put them in a bucket and put them next to the opposite cultivar. The bucket can be tied to the tree or set on ground

Grafting solving self incompatibility

graft branches genetically, yellow delicious grafted on red delicious, getting you two different apples on one tree! There is a cultivar called “5 in 1” that has five different apples on it ‘5-N-1’