Plant Biology, Soil Profiles, and Classification

Vocabulary flashcards covering native and non-native plants, soil horizons, fungal communication networks, and the botanical distinctions between monocots and dicots based on the transcript.

Native Plant

A plant species that exists and survives naturally in its local environment without requiring human intervention such as added fertilizer, extra watering, or soil disturbance.

Non-Native Plant

A plant introduced to an area that cannot survive on its own and requires soil disturbance, watering, fertilization, or care to prevent it from dying.

Hydrology

The study or presence of water in an area, which dictates which plants can adapt and survive based on water availability.

A Horizon

The top layer of the soil profile, known as topsoil, which takes approximately 10,000 years to form one foot and is rich in nutrients from decaying organic matter.

B Horizon

The soil layer beneath the topsoil, characterized by a rust or orange color, where soluble minerals accumulate as rainwater percolates down from the A horizon.

Mycelium

Soil-dwelling fungal strands that act as decomposers and serve as communication pathways for plants to send warning signals and trigger defenses against pests.

Sugar Maple

A native tree species, also called hard maple, that is shade-tolerant, self-sustaining without fertilizers or pesticides, and communicates through mycelium networks.

Gaia Hypothesis

The concept that the earth and its biological environment maintain a resilient, self-regulating balance despite external disruptions.

Cotyledon

The seed leaf within the embryo of a plant that is used to classify whether a germinating plant is a monocot or a dicot.

Monocot

A plant classification defined by having one cotyledon, pollen with a single pore or furrow, parallel leaf veins, flower parts in multiples of three, and scattered vascular bundles in the stem.

Dicot

A plant classification defined by having two cotyledons, pollen with three pores or furrows, netted leaf veins, flower parts in multiples of four or five, and vascular bundles arranged in a ring within the stem.

Vascular Bundles

The internal tube-like structures or pipes within a plant stem that carry water and nutrients throughout the plant.