Plant Diversity and Reproduction

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms related to plant diversity and reproduction, including comparisons between different plant types and their characteristics.

Charophytes

Green algae closely related to land plants, share traits like cellulose-synthesizing proteins.

Land Plants

Plants that have adapted to life on land, characterized by features like multicellular embryos and spores.

Alternation of generations

Life cycle type in which there is both a multicellular haploid phase and a multicellular diploid phase.

Bryophytes

Nonvascular plants including mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.

Phylum Bryophyta

The specific group that includes only mosses.

Vascular plants

Plants that have vascular tissue (xylem and phloem) and typically have roots and leaves.

Homosporous

Plants that produce one type of spore, which develops into a bisexual gametophyte.

Heterosporous

Plants that produce two types of spores; megaspores (female) and microspores (male).

Gymnosperms

Seed plants that produce seeds not enclosed in an ovary; includes conifers and cycads.

Angiosperms

Flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed in fruits.

Double fertilization

A process in flowering plants where one sperm fertilizes the egg, forming a zygote, and another combines with polar nuclei to form endosperm.

Cotyledons

The first leaves that appear from a germinating seed; monocots have one, while eudicots have two.

Apical meristems

Growing regions at the tips of roots and shoots responsible for primary growth.

Fibrous roots

Roots that form a dense network of thin roots, typically found in small plants.

Taproot

A large primary root that grows deep into the soil, common in tall plants.

Xylem

Vascular tissue responsible for water and mineral transport in plants.

Phloem

Vascular tissue responsible for transporting sugars and other metabolic products downward from the leaves.

Stomata

Pores in the leaf epidermis that facilitate gas exchange and are regulated by guard cells.

Guard cells

Cells that surround stomata and control their opening and closing.