Angiosperms 2

Flashcards on Angiosperms, Monocots, Floral Trends, Biodiversity, and Evolution

Angiosperms

Flowering plants with carpels, endosperm, and seeds in fruit; reduced gametophytes; double fertilization; flowers; phloem with companion cells.

Monocots

Angiosperms characterized by a single cotyledon, parallel veins, vascular bundles usually complexly arranged, and floral parts usually in multiples of three.

Eudicots

Angiosperms characterized by two cotyledons, netlike veins, vascular bundles usually arranged in a ring, and floral parts usually in multiples of four or five.

Orchidaceae (Orchids)

One of the largest families of monocots, with specialized floral structures, many epiphytic species, and a requirement for mycorrhizal fungi in seedling establishment.

Poaceae (Grasses)

A monocot family including wheat, rice, maize, and barley, providing over half of human calories globally, with about 12,000 species.

Floral Evolution Trends

Evolutionary change in flowers resulting in reduction in the number of floral organs, changes in symmetry from radial to bilateral, and fusion of parts.

Pollination

The process by which pollen is transferred, often involving animals (insects, birds, bats) that are enticed with nectar and pollen, leading to coevolution between plants and pollinators.

Wind Pollination

A pollination method where plants rely on wind to disperse pollen, often requiring large quantities of pollen, as seen in grasses like maize.

Insect Pollination Signals

Visual cues like color, texture, and pattern, and olfactory cues like scent, which attract insects to flowers for pollination.

Bird-pollinated flowers

Flowers that are often red and odourless due to specialization with their pollinators.

Bat-pollinated flowers

Flowers that are often large, robust, and produce copious amounts of nectar and/or pollen as rewards.

Pollination mimicry

A type of species-specific pollination where flowers look and smell like the insect female to attract pollinators, as seen in Ophrys species.

Pollinium

In orchids, the entire contents of an anther held together and dispersed as a single unit for pollination.

Ergot Fungus (Claviceps purpurea)

A fungus that grows on Rye, wheat, and other members of the Poaceae family and can cause Ergotism if consumed.