Plant Reproduction and Development

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering plant classification, floral anatomy, life cycles, alternation of generations, fertilization mechanisms, and developmental organogenesis.

Bryophytes

Spore-bearing non-vascular land plants that lack lignified vascular tissues, including hornworts, liverworts, and mosses.

Pteridophytes

Spore-bearing vascular land plants that possess lignified vascular tissues, including ferns, horsetails, and lycophytes.

Spermatophytes

Seed-bearing vascular plants characterized by the presence of lignified vascular tissues and divided into gymnosperms and angiosperms.

Gymnosperms

Seed-bearing vascular plants characterized by reproductive structures called cones rather than true flowers.

Angiosperms

Flowering, seed-bearing vascular plants that produce reproductive floral structures and develop fruits from ovaries.

Alternation of Generations

A common life cycle pattern in green plants in which the life cycle alternates between a multicellular diploid ($2n$) sporophyte phase and a multicellular haploid ($n$) gametophyte phase.

Sporophyte

The multicellular diploid ($2n$) stage of the plant life cycle that produces haploid spores via meiotic division.

Gametophyte

The multicellular haploid ($n$) stage of the plant life cycle that produces haploid gametes through mitotic division.

Pistil

The female reproductive organ of a flower that consists of the stigma, style, and ovary.

Stigma

The receptive apical surface of the pistil where pollen grains must land during pollination.

Style

The neck or stalk connecting the stigma to the ovary through which the pollen tube grows.

Ovary (Flower)

The basal female reproductive structure of a flower that houses the ovules and female gametes, eventually developing into a fruit.

Ovule

A small structure situated inside the ovary that contains an egg nucleus and matures into a seed following fertilization.

Stamen

The male reproductive organ of a flower consisting of the anther and filament.

Anther

The pollen-bearing male floral structure of the stamen that produces and stores pollen grains.

Filament

The slender stalk of the stamen that physically supports and elevates the anther.

Petal

A colorful, modified leaf-like structure of a flower that primarily functions to attract pollinators.

Sepal

A green leaf-like outer floral structure that encloses and protects internal organs while in the flower bud.

Receptacle

The thickened vegetative stem region located below the ovary from which floral structures grow.

Pedicel

The stalk that provides mechanical support to an individual flower and its constituent floral parts.

Apomixis

A form of asexual reproduction (found in plants such as dandelions) that produces embryos and viable seeds from unfertilized eggs in ovules without requiring pollination.

Stolon (Runner)

A horizontal stem along the ground surface that produces buds capable of developing into distinct new individuals through vegetative propagation.

Pollen Grain

The microscopic male gametophyte of seed plants consisting of a tube nucleus to guide the pollen tube and a generative nucleus that yields two sperm nuclei.

Embryo Sac

The female gametophyte housed within the ovule of an angiosperm flower, typically containing eight nuclei including the egg cell, two polar nuclei, synergids, and antipodals.

Double Fertilization

A unique angiosperm fertilization event where one sperm nucleus fertilizes an egg nucleus to form a diploid ($2n$) embryo, while a second sperm nucleus fuses with polar nuclei to yield a triploid ($3n$) endosperm.

Shoot Apical Meristem

The apical region of undifferentiated cells at the shoot tip responsible for driving the continuous upward growth of the plant.

Root Apical Meristem

The growing region of undifferentiated cells near the tip of the root that allows the continuous downward elongation of roots.

Cambium

A lateral meristematic tissue (including vascular cambium and cork cambium) that promotes secondary plant growth by increasing the thickness of stems and roots.

Pericarp

The structural wall of a fruit derived from the flower ovary wall, which typically differentiates into the exocarp (skin), mesocarp (flesh or pulp), and endocarp (pit or inner layer).

Seed Germination

The physiological process wherein a seed imbibes water to rupture its seed coat and initiate organogenesis, resulting in the emergence of embryonic roots and stems.

Radicle

The embryonic root structure of a developing plant that emerges first from the seed coat to form the root system.

Hypocotyl

The region of the embryonic axis located below the cotyledons that emerges from the seed to form the plant stem.

Cotyledon

The primary embryonic seed leaf of a plant embryo that provides nutritional storage and support to the seedling during early development.

Epicotyl

The embryonic shoot region located above the cotyledons derived from the plumule that develops into the mature leaves and upper stem.