Plant flashcards notebook LM

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy, producing oxygen as a by-product.

Oxygen

A vital by-product of photosynthesis essential for many organisms' survival.

Characteristics of Plants

Almost all plants are multicelled, fixed in one spot, and carry out photosynthesis.

Cell Wall

A rigid outer layer found in all plant cells, composed of lignin and cellulose.

Central Vacuole

A large water-filled organelle in a plant cell that helps maintain turgor pressure.

Alternation of Generations

The plant life cycle wherein successive generations produce either spores or gametes.

Sporophyte Generation

The stage in the plant life cycle that produces spores and is diploid (2n).

Gametophyte Generation

The stage in the plant life cycle that produces gametes and is haploid (1n).

Meiosis

The process that produces spores from the multicellular sporophyte.

Fertilization

The process in which gametes unite to form a zygote.

Zygote

The initial cell formed when a sperm fertilizes an egg, which develops into a multicellular sporophyte.

Bryophytes

Close living relatives of the earliest land plants that lack a vascular system and tend to be low-lying.

Seedless Vascular Plants

Plants that have a vascular system but do not produce seeds for reproduction, such as ferns.

Gymnosperms

Seed-bearing plants with seeds that are not encased in a fruit, often represented by pine and spruce trees.

Angiosperms

Flowering plants that produce seeds encased in fruit, making them the most dominant group on Earth.

Endosperm

The tissue in angiosperm seeds that serves as food for the growing embryo.

Gravitropism

A plant's ability to sense its orientation with respect to Earth and direct its growth accordingly.

Phototropism

The curvature of a plant's shoots in response to a source of light.

Thigmotropism

The growth of a plant in response to touch, commonly seen in climbing plants.

Deciduous Trees

Trees in temperate climates that exhibit a coordinated, seasonal loss of leaves.

Photoperiodism

The ability of a plant to respond to changes in the daily duration of darkness relative to light.