SYSTEMATICS LEC GROUP 1 FINALS TERM

Perennials

Plants that live for more than 2 years

Woody plants

These types of plants supports an immense share of the Earth’s terrestrial biodiversity, providing food and habitats for innumerable microorganisms, epiphytes and invertebrate and vertebrate species

400 million years ago

When did the first woody trees evolved in earth?

419.2 million to 358.9 million years

What year was the Devonian period?

Devonian period

During this period, terrestrial plants were generally small (an inch or so tall) and did not have roots, seeds, leaves, or woody tissue. Plant height during this period was also restricted because the organisms did not have tissues capable of dealing with the stresses associated with extensive vertical growth

100 feet (30 meters)

Towards the end of the Devonian period, how tall did the first forests grew?

Seeds, leaves, woody tissues

Due to the evolution of these 3 factors, it enabled further growth, efficient food production, and resilience

354 million to 290 million years

What year did the Carboniferous period started?

Carboniferous Period

During this period, vascular land plants dominated the area, ranging from small, shrubby growths to trees exceeding heights of 100 feet (30 meters)

Lycopods, sphenopsids, cordaites, seed ferns, true ferns

Five important groups in the Carboniferous period

Lycopods

includes tall trees with dense, spirally arranged leaves; reproduction is either cones or spore-bearing organs on the leaves

Sphenopsids

trees and shrubs with a jointed stem and leaves arranged in spirals from those joints

Cordaites

extinct members of the gymnosperms; precursor to the conifers; favored upland environments, where they grew tall and possessed tiny scalelike leaves and cones similar to modern conifers

Cretaceous period

During this period, the first appearance and initial diversification of flowering plants occured

Angiosperms

Flowering plants are also called?

New food sources

Insects and other organisms evolve to take advantage of the what?

Figs, magnolias, poplars, willows, sycamores, herbaceous plants

Groups that belong to Angiosperm

Montsechia vidalli

This is the oldest known fossil of angiosperm

130 million years to 125 million years

How old is Montsechia vidalli?

Gymnosperms and Angiosperms

The two major groups of woody plants

Gymnosperms

Although since the cretaceous period, this type of woody plants have been gradually displaced by the more recently evolved angiosperms, they are still successful in many parts of the world and occupy large areas of Earth’s surface.

Gymnosperms

This type of woody plant includes the tallest, the most massive, and the longest-living individual plants on earth

Colder and Arctic regions

Gymnosperms form a dominant vegetation in what regions?

Gymnosperms

Pines, spruce, yews, are an example of what type of woody plant?

Angiosperms

This kind of woody plant have the most numerous of all the divisions in the plant kingdom

Woody or herbaceous

Angiosperms can be ________ or _________

Woody plants

This includes trees and some shrubs

Herbaceous plants

lack woody stems; classified as annuals (live for one year or season), biennials (live for two years), and perennials (come back year after year for many years)

Angiosperms

Oak tree, Maple tree, Dogwood tree are examples of?

3.04 trillion

How many wood plants or trees are there worldwide?

43%

Percentage on how many trees grow in tropical and subtropical forests

24%

Percentage on how many trees grow in boreal region?

22%

Percentage on how many trees grow in the temperate regions?

550 gigatons of carbon

The overall biomass composition of the biosphere was estimated at?

Plants

What makes up the majority of the biosphere?

Stems, trunks of trees

What represents the 70% of plant biomass?

Trees

What makes up 60% of the total biomass of our biosphere?

2 gigatons of carbon

All animals and humans taken together make up merely how much gigatons of carbon?

Vascular tissues, root systems, leaf adaptations, seed dispersal

What are the key features that made plants to thrive across diverse ecosystems?

Vascular tissue

This contains xylem and phloem, it also enables vertical growth and transports water, nutrients, and provide structural support

Pith, Heartwood, Phloem, Cambium, Xylem, Outer bark

Identify the parts

Root systems

These are the anchorages and resources access, it also secures plants in the soil and facilitates access to water and minerals, even in harsh conditions

Fungi

What organism does the root system have a symbiosis with?

Conifers, Deciduous trees

Different types of leaf adaptations

Conifers

These are needle-like leaves, and they minimize water loss, and is suited for cold or arid climates

Deciduous trees

These are broad leaves and optimize photosynthesis in warm, wet climates

Seed development and seed dispersal

Seed adaptations, enable reproduction over long distances. Increase resilience to environmental stress. Diverse Dispersal Mechanisms and help spread species to new habitats

Ancient mosses

What were the earliest land plants related to?

Bryophytes

What is the scientific name of Ancient moss?

500 million years

How many years were the earliest land plants were related to ancient moss?

Liverworts and early vascular plants

What followed after bryophytes?

Pterophytes

Example of early vascular plants

Ferns

Pterophytes are the ancestors of what organisms?

Bryophytes, Pterophytes

Both of these organisms rely on water for reproduction (male gametophytes release swimming sperm)

Dominant sporophyte stage

Seed plants evolved into this stage, reducing gametophyte reliance

Heterospory

It is a two spore type, and in early plants (e.g., Selaginella) paved the way for seed plants

Seeds and pollen

Seed plants developed these two in order to reproduce without water, aiding survival in dry areas

Angiosperms

What thrived, and became the most diverse groups of plants by the cretaceous period?

Megaspores, Microspores, Selaginella

Seed plants are heterosporous, producing?

Megaspore

The female gametophytes (egg-producing)

Microspores

Male gametophytes (sperm-producing)

Selaginella

These are ancestral heterosporous plant and has both male and female sporangia in one strobilus, with distinct spore functions

Pollen

protects male gametophytes, enabling wide dispersal without water

Seeds

provide embryos with protection, nourishment, and dormancy, supporting survival in diverse environments.

Bryophytes and ancestors

Land colonization was aided by adaptations of what?

350 million years ago

When did the earliest seed plants appear?

319 million years ago

When were gymnosperms first recorded?

Pennsylvanian period

In what period was gymnosperm recorded around 319 million years ago?

Progymnosperms

Gymnosperms evolved from what?

380 million years

Gymnosperms evolved from progymnosperms around how many millions of years ago?

Conifers, spores

Progymnosperms resembled what? and also reproduced through?

Triassic

In what period where gymnosperms became dominant?

240 million years

How many million years ago was the Triassic period?

Cretaceous

Angiosperms overtook gymnosperms in diversity during what period?

Elkinsia Polymorpha

This is a seed fern around 400 million years ago and is the earliest known seed plant, with seeds in protective capsules

Seed ferns

These types of seed became abundant in the Carboniferous coal swamps

Progymnosperms

Early gymnosperms that originated 390 million years ago in the middle of the Devonian period

Seed plants

During the permian period, the drier climate favored

Ginkgoales and Gingko Biloba

They appeared in the Jurrasic, marking the early gymnosperm diversity

Mesozoic era

In what era did gymnosperms peaked?

Taiga, Alpine forests

In what ecosystems do gymnosperms dominate?

Bryophyte, Fern Spores

These are single haploid cells needing moisture to grow into gametophyte

Diploid zygote

In seed plants, the female gametophyte has a few cells, including the egg and endosperm-producing cells. After fertilization, the ________ ___________ develops into an embryo within a protective seed coat

Seed advantages

Storage tissue nourishes the embryo.
Protective coat prevents desiccation, enabling dormancy until favorable conditions.
Seeds disperse widely by wind, water, or animals, reducing competition with the parent.
Pollen grains (male gametophytes) are adapted for dispersal without water, using wind, water, or animal pollinators .
In most seed plants, sperm lack flagella, but motile sperm with flagella persist in cycads, Ginkgo, and some gymnosperms

Angiosperm radiation

This provided the foundation for today’s diversity and richness in flowering plants.

Flowering plants

These plants remain integral to shaping and sustaining life on earth

Archaefructus

One of the oldest angiosperm fossils is named?

Northeastern China

Archaefructus was disovered in?

Archaefructus

Had primitive flower-like structures and is often cited as one of the earliest angiosperms, giving scientists insights into what early flowering plants may have looked like

Rapid Diversification

This is due to several adaptation traits such as their flowers and fruits facilitated cross-pollination as well as seed dispersal. Their vascular system was also efficient in rapidly growing and adapting to very diverse environments.

Magnoliids, Eudicots, Monocots

What are the major groups that emerged?

Magnoliids

characterized by broad leaves and simple flowers

Eudicots

largest group; mainly characterized by having two seed leaves upon germination.

Monocots

characterized with one seed leaf, but parallel-veined leaves, grass and grass-like flowering plants,

Desert

Adaptation: Succulence and Spines
Benefit: Maximizes water conservation, allowing the plant to flourish in extreme drought conditions.

Desert

Cacti in Arid regions is an example of an ecological niche called

Tropical Rainforest

Adaptation: Water-holding Rosettes
Benefit: Provides access to water in a humid yet competitive environment where soil contact for water absorption is limited

Tropical Rainforest

Epiphytic Bromeliads is an example of an ecological niche called

Temperate Forests

Adaptation: Seasonal Leaf Shedding
Benefit: Aids in resource conservation and protection during cold seasons with reduced sunlight and water availability.

Temperate forests

Deciduous trees is an example of an ecological niche called?