Plant Life Cycles Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering plant life cycles including gametic, zygotic, sporic, bryophytes, ferns, conifers, and angiosperms.

Gametic Life Cycle

A life cycle in which the multicellular organism is haploid ($n$), producing gametes that fuse to form a diploid zygote ($2n$), which then undergoes meiosis into haploid cells.

Zygotic Life Cycle

A life cycle where the multicellular organism is haploid ($n$) and the zygote ($2n$) is the ONLY diploid stage, as seen in charophycean algae.

Sporic Life Cycle

Also called alternation of generations; a life cycle featuring two alternating multicellular generations: a diploid sporophyte ($2n$) and a haploid gametophyte ($n$).

Sporophyte

The diploid ($2n$) multicellular generation in a sporic life cycle that undergoes meiosis to produce haploid spores.

Gametophyte

The haploid ($n$) multicellular generation in a sporic life cycle that produces haploid gametes through mitosis.

Bryophytes

A plant group comprising mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, in which the gametophyte is the dominant, long-lived generation and fertilization requires water for swimming sperm.

Antheridia

Reproductive structures in bryophytes and ferns that produce sperm.

Archegonia

Reproductive structures in bryophytes and ferns that contain eggs.

Peristome Teeth

Structures found in moss sporangia that help control spore release in response to moisture.

Gemma Cups

Structures located on the liverwort thallus that contain gemmae used for asexual reproduction.

Gemmae

Small discs of haploid tissue inside liverwort gemma cups that are dispersed by rainfall and can directly develop into new gametophytes.

Ferns

Vascular plants with a dominant, long-lived sporophyte, vascular tissue (xylem, phloem, tracheids, lignin), and sori, but whose fertilization is still limited by water.

Sori

Clusters of sporangia located on fern leaves that produce many spores.

Euphylls

Larger leaves found in ferns that can house many sori.

Conifers

Gymnosperms and seed plants featuring a dominant sporophyte, highly reduced male and female gametophytes, pollen, ovules, and naked seeds.

Pollen

The reduced male gametophyte in seed plants developed from microspores, which grows a pollen tube to deliver sperm to the egg without external water.

Ovules

Structures in seed plants that protect and provide nutrition to the female gametophyte and developing embryo.

Naked Seeds

Seeds that are not enclosed by fruit, characteristic of gymnosperms such as conifers.

Angiosperms

Flowering seed plants with a dominant sporophyte, flowers, fruits, enclosed ovules, double fertilization, and seed endosperm.

Double Fertilization

A defining angiosperm process where one sperm fertilizes the egg to form a zygote ($2n$) and a second sperm fuses with other female gametophyte tissue to form nutritive endosperm.

Endosperm

Nutritive seed tissue formed during double fertilization in angiosperms that supports the developing embryo.

Fruits

Angiosperm structures developed from the ovary that help protect and disperse enclosed seeds.