Lecture 16 Key Concepts/Terms

What is the "abominable mystery"?

where complex and specialized structures of angiosperms came from. Perplexed Darwin, How did it happen so fast?

Archaefructus

oldest known angiosperm
extinct
fruits
hermaphroditic
no petals or sepals

Amborella trichopoda

oldest living angiosperm clade from New Caledonia
small shrub or tree
functionally dioecious
very small flowers

Nymphaeles

fully aquatic
no vessel cells
stomata on one side of leaves
water lillies

Astrobaileyales

small group, woody plants

Chloranthaceae

woody group of angiosperms found in tropics, not much known about them

ceratophyllum

group of angiosperm where many float just below the surface of water and help in the ecosystems there; high oxygen production- commonly used in fish tanks and aquariums

magnoliids

trimerous
broad leaves with branching veins
economically important

eudicots

two cotyledons
4-5 merous
broad leaves with branched veins
most successful plant lineage

examples of magnoliids

magnolias, nutmeg, avocado

examples of eudicots

roses, violets, cabbage, pea, maple and buttercups

monocots

Flowering plant whose embryos have one cotyledon

examples of monocots

grasses, ginger, tulips, orchids, onions, bananas

pollination syndrome

a set of flower characteristics associated with a particular type of pollinator

what are the two main types of pollination?

biotic and abiotic

pollination vs fertilization

transfer of pollen vs sex

abiotic pollination

pollination by a nonliving agent such as wind, about 20% of pollination

biotic pollination

pollination by living agent such as animals, about 80% of pollination

abiotic pollination: water

aquatic
floating pollen
not water soluble, but still germinates
close together
probably the most ancestral form of pollination

abiotic pollination: wind

small flowers
usually flowers are white or pale green
no scent
hanging or standing off plants

biotic pollination: beetles

white or greenish flowers
large, dish shaped, easily accessible pollen
highly scented

biotic pollination: short-tongued bees and flies

open flowers
exposed pollen
no nectar
small overall size

biotic pollination: long-tongued bees

deep flowers with wells for nectar
yellow, purple r blue flowers
larger, more tubular shapes

Bees see flower patterns in what wavelength that humans cannot see?

UV spectrum

biotic pollination: butterflies

open flat or thin tubular flowers
pink or lavender flowers (very "showy")
needs landing area (butterflies cannot hover)
scented
nectar with lots of amino acids

biotic pollination: moths

no landing area needed
nocturnal or crepuscular
white or pale flowers
strongly scented
lots of nectar

biotic pollination: hummingbirds

large, deep tubular flowers
nectar low in amino acids
red or orange
not scented

biotic pollination: bats

very large flowers
white or lightly colored flowers
bell-shaped or dangling flowers
nocturnal
very large amounts of nectar
highly scented

Coevolution of flowers and pollinators

Length of flower stem at the same angle and length as the tongue of the pollinator the plant has co-evolved with.

nectar guide

Patterns (usually in a UV-reactive pigment) that
"guide" insects toward the nectar in a flower

UV spectrum and pollination

flowers have adapted their flowers to have nectar guides that are colored based on the UV spectrum of colors that insects see, not based on the visible spectrum of colors that we see; this can make it harder for us to spot some nectar guides

what are the "goals" of flowers through coevolutionary relationships?

get pollen
give pollen
make sure pollinators don't take rewards without getting/giving pollen

Aristolochaicae (trap flowers)

example of coevolution

what group are water lillies a part of

Nymphaeles

what group is star anise a part of

Austrobaileyales

what flower group are magnolias a part of

magnoliids

what flower group is nutmeg a part of

magnoliids

what flower group are roses a part of

eudicots

what flower group are pea plants a part of

eudicots

what flower group are daffodils a part of

monocots

what flower group are orchids a part of

monocots

As you are walking through the woods, you stumble across a flowering plant with broad leaves with branched veins, and flowers with five petals. With this information, you know it must be which of the following?

A) Monocot
B) Gymnosperm
C) Eudicot
D) Angiosperm
E) It must be both C and D

E) It must be both C and D