Chapter 16: Plants, Fungi & Protists

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, domain characteristics, plant evolutionary innovations, and fungal anatomical structures from Chapter 16.

Prokaryotes

Simple, single-celled organisms (Bacteria and Archaea) without a nucleus or membrane-bound organelles, typically around $10\times$ smaller than eukaryotes.

Eukaryotes

Complex single-celled or multicellular organisms (Protists, Plants, Fungi, and Animals) containing a true nucleus with DNA enclosed in a nuclear envelope and membrane-bound organelles.

Kingdom Protista

A diverse kingdom of eukaryotic organisms defined by exclusion, grouping all eukaryotes that are not classified as plants, animals, or fungi.

Protozoans

A category of protists that are non-photosynthetic and motile, obtaining food by eating other organisms.

Algae

A category of photosynthetic protists that may or may not be motile.

Mixotrophs

Nutritional opportunists that can use energy and carbon from multiple different sources.

Pseudopodia

Cellular projections (also known as 'false feet') used by certain protozoans, such as amoebas, to crawl on solid surfaces.

Amoeba Subcellular Structures

Specialized organelle compartments in amoebas including food vacuoles for digesting food and contractile vacuoles for expelling excess water.

Stomata

Tiny elaborate pores in the waxy cuticle of plant leaves that open and close to regulate the uptake of $\text{CO}_2$ and release of $\text{O}_2$.

Bryophytes

Simple land plants (liverworts and mosses) that form ground-hugging carpets and absorb water directly through wicking action due to being only a few cells thick.

Ferns

The first land plants to evolve a vascular system with an extensive network of tube-like root structures for fluid transport.

Lignin

One of the strongest natural materials that links cellulose fibers in plant cell walls to form a rigid network, providing structural support for tall growth.

Gymnosperms

Seed plants (including conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes) that evolved pollen and produce 'naked' seeds exposed on modified leaves like pinecone scales.

Pollen

Microscopic structures containing sperm cells that can be dispersed through the air in massive quantities, freeing plants from requiring water for fertilization.

Seed

A structure consisting of a plant embryo and stored food encased in a protective covering that prevents dehydration and predator damage.

Angiosperms

The dominant and diverse group of flowering plants whose fertilized ovules develop into seeds enclosed within a protective ovary wall that becomes fruit.

Flower

An angiosperm reproductive structure evolved from gymnosperm cone-like organs that efficiently attracts animal pollinators using scent, shape, and color.

Ovule

The egg-bearing structure in seed plants enclosed within the ovary wall, which develops into a seed following fertilization.

Absorptive Heterotrophs

Organisms, such as fungi, that digest organic material outside their body by secreting enzymes into food sources and then absorbing the broken-down nutrients.

Zygomycetes

A major group of fungi that includes many species of molds.

Ascomycetes

A diverse group of fungi, commonly known as sac fungi, which includes organisms such as truffles.

Basidiomycetes

A major group of fungi, commonly known as club fungi, which includes typical mushrooms.

Hypha

A single, fine, colorless, branching fungal thread that absorbs nutrients from the environment.

Mycelium

The main body of a fungus, consisting of an entire bundle or network of interwoven hyphae.

Fruiting Body

The aboveground reproductive structure of a fungus (informally called a mushroom) that forms after mating and releases sexual spores.

Fungal Structure Anatomy

Anatomical organization of a multicellular fungus showing the aboveground fruiting body releasing spores and the belowground mycelium composed of individual hyphae.

Spore

A fungal reproductive structure capable of surviving long periods in a dormant state and sprouting under favorable conditions to form a new fungal body.

Yeasts

Single-celled fungi that produce alcohol and $\text{CO}_2$, crucial for bread making, beer brewing, and wine fermentation.

CITES

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora; an international treaty among over 175 countries regulating trade in wild plants and animals.