BIO421 FINALS

Phylogeny

The evolutionary history of a group of organisms and their hereditary relationships.

Nomenclature

A system of names used in science, especially for organisms.

Species

A set of individuals that can interbreed successfully but cannot do so with other species.

Monophyletic Group

A group of organisms that includes an ancestor and all its descendants.

Polyphyletic Group

A grouping of organisms that have evolved from multiple ancestors.

Cladistics

A method of classifying organisms based on inferred evolutionary relationships.

Synapomorphy

A shared, derived trait that is used to infer evolutionary relationships.

Homology

Similarity in characteristics resulting from shared ancestry.

Analogy

Similarity in function or appearance due to convergent evolution, not shared ancestry.

Gamete

A reproductive cell (sperm or egg).

Sporophyte

The diploid phase in the life cycle of plants that produces spores.

Gametophyte

The haploid phase in the life cycle of plants that produces gametes.

Alternation of Generations

A reproductive cycle involving both a multicellular haploid form and a multicellular diploid form.

Nonvascular Plants

Plants without vascular tissue, such as mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.

Embryophytes

Land plants that develop from an embryo.

Form Genera

Convenience-based groupings of fossil organisms with similar structures.

International Code of Botanical Nomenclature

A set of rules and recommendations dealing with the naming of plants.

Angiosperms

Plants that produce flowers and seeds enclosed within a fruit.

Gymnosperms

Seed-producing plants that do not form flowers or fruits, with seeds exposed on cones.

Xylem

The vascular tissue in plants that conducts water and dissolved nutrients upwards.

Phloem

The vascular tissue responsible for transporting sugars and other metabolic products downward.

Microphylls

Simple leaves with a single vascular strand, characteristic of some vascular plants.

Megaphylls

Leaves that evolved from branching systems with multiple vascular strands.

Lignophytes

A monophyletic group of woody plants evolved from progymnosperms.

Siphonogamy

A type of fertilization in gymnosperms where the pollen tube delivers sperm directly to the egg.