The Evolution of Plants and Fungi

Practice flashcards covering plant evolution, lineages, nonvascular and vascular adaptations, and fungal biology based on lecture notes.

Embryophytes

Eukaryotic multicellular organisms that form a multicelled embryo on the parental body; a defining characteristic of plants.

Photoautotrophs

Organisms that are photosynthetic and use light energy to produce their own food; a characteristic of plants.

Alternation of Generations

A life cycle that alternates between a multicelled diploid ($2n$) sporophyte phase and a multicelled haploid ($n$) gametophyte phase.

Sporophyte

The multicelled diploid ($2n$) phase of the plant life cycle that produces haploid spores via meiosis.

Gametophyte

The multicelled haploid ($n$) phase of the plant life cycle that produces gametes through mitosis.

Bryophytes

Nonvascular plants such as mosses, liverworts, and hornworts that lack xylem, phloem, and lignin, and require water for fertilization.

Rhizoids

Structures that hold a moss gametophyte in place but are not true roots.

Seedless Vascular Plants

Plant group including ferns, horsetails, and club mosses that possess vascular tissue and have a predominant sporophyte generation.

Gymnosperms

Vascular plants that produce "naked" seeds not enclosed in specialized chambers, such as conifers, cycads, and ginkgos.

Conifers

A group of gymnosperms that typically have needle-like or scale-like leaves, produce woody cones, and are resistant to cold and drought.

Angiosperms

Flowering plants that develop seeds within protective chambers called ovaries, which later mature into fruit.

Stamen

The male reproductive structure of a flower, consisting of an anther and a filament.

Carpel

The female reproductive structure of a flower, consisting of a stigma, style, and ovary.

Fruit

A ripened ovary that houses seeds and acts as an adaptation for seed dispersal via wind, hitch-hiking, or digestive processing.

Monocots

One of the two major lineages of angiosperms; includes orchids, palms, lilies, and grasses.

Eudicots

A major lineage of angiosperms that includes most flowering shrubs, trees, cacti, and herbaceous plants like tomatoes and roses.

Saprobes

Fungi that live and feed on dead organic material, acting as main decomposers in ecosystems.

Hyphae

Threadlike filaments that make up the structure of a fungus; they can be septate (divided) or aseptate.

Chitin

A nitrogen-containing polysaccharide found in the cell walls of fungi.

Mycelium

An underground mesh of interwoven hyphae that makes up the main body of a fungus.

Dikaryotic Stage

A phase in the fungal life cycle where the cytoplasm of two cells has fused ($n+n$) but the nuclei remain separate.

Mycorrhiza

A mutually beneficial (mutualistic) relationship between plant roots and a fungus.

Lichen

A symbiotic association between a fungus and green algae or cyanobacteria.

Welwitschia Mirabilis

A gnetophyte species from the Namib Naukluft Desert that can live to be $2,000$ years old.

Animal Pollination

A process where about $90\%$ of angiosperms are pollinated by animals such as birds, bats, and insects attracted by nectar.