Plant Kingdom and Bryophytes

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the plant kingdom and bryophytes, important for understanding their characteristics and evolutionary history.

Derived traits

Characteristics that separate land plants from their algal ancestors.

Bryophytes

Non-vascular plants, which include liverworts and mosses, that represent the earliest lineages of land plants.

Sporangia

Multicellular organs in sporophytes where spores are produced.

Stomata

Small openings on the leaf surface that allow for gas exchange, specifically CO2 and O2.

Multicellular embryos

Dependent embryos that develop from fertilized eggs and receive nutrients and protection from the parent plant.

Rhizoids

Root-like structures in bryophytes for anchoring, but not for water and mineral absorption.

Photosynthetic gametophyte

The green part of bryophytes that produces eggs and sperm.

Liverworts

A group of bryophytes with about 9,000 species, often small and can reproduce asexually.

Mosses

A more diverse group of bryophytes with approximately 15,000 species, capable of asexual reproduction.

Peat

Decomposed organic material from Sphagnum moss in wetlands, which accumulates and stores a significant amount of carbon.

Apical meristems

Areas of continuous growth in plants that lead to the differentiation of various tissues.

Waxy cuticle

A thick waxy layer on the surface of leaves that helps prevent water loss (desiccation).

Cambrian explosion

A major event in the Paleozoic era where diverse animal life began to colonize land, around the same time plants evolved from green algae.

Non-vascular plants

Plants that lack a vascular system to transport water and nutrients; bryophytes are examples.

Desiccation tolerance

The ability of mosses to withstand drying out and then rehydrate.