Plant Life Cycles

Flashcards covering the plant life cycle, alternation of generations, and related terminology.

Alternation of Generations

A phenomenon in plants where they alternate between a haploid and a diploid generation.

Gametophyte

The haploid stage in a plant's life cycle where cells have one set of chromosomes.

Sporophyte

The diploid stage in a plant's life cycle where cells have two sets of chromosomes.

Fertilization

The process where gametes fuse together to form a diploid zygote.

Bryophytes

Simplest plants which exhibit a dominant gametophyte stage.

Rhizoids

Thread-like structures used by gametophytes to gather water and minerals from the soil.

Pteridophytes

Plants in which the sporophyte is dominant and independent.

Gymnosperms and Angiosperms

Plants that produce seeds and in which the sporophyte remains dominant and independent.

Cones

Hard structures in gymnosperms where the gametophyte generation takes place.

Flowers

Diploid structures in angiosperms where the gametophyte generation takes place.

Haploidyplontic Life Cycle

A life cycle where meiosis doesn't directly produce the haploid gametes, but produces haploid spores that develop into a multicellular gametophyte.

Diplontic Life Cycle

A life cycle characterized by unicellular haploid gametes formed directly via meiosis and only the diploid stage is multicellular.

Haplontic Life Cycle

A life cycle where the haploid stage is always multicellular and the main organism is haploid, producing haploid gametes via mitosis.

Nonvascular Plants

Plants lacking specialized vascular tissues for transporting water and nutrients, including liverworts, hornworts, and mosses.