Plant Biology and Reproduction Flashcards

A comprehensive vocabulary set covering plant characteristics, the classification of Bryophytes and Tracheophytes, gymnosperm and angiosperm reproduction, flower anatomy, and seed development.

Autotrophic

A characteristic of plants meaning they can make their own food by trapping sunlight with chlorophyll for photosynthesis.

Cellulose

The material that makes up the rigid cell walls of plant cells.

Bryophytes

Non-vascular plants, such as mosses, that are typically small, low-growing, and restricted to very moist areas.

Tracheophytes

Vascular plants that possess a vascular system, roots, stems, and leaves, allowing them to range in size from $2\,mm$ to $15\,m$.

Pioneer plants

The first plants to establish themselves in a new area, a role often filled by mosses.

Pteridophytes

A group of Tracheophytes that are non-seed producing, such as ferns, and were the first vascular plants to evolve.

Spermatophytes

A group of Tracheophytes that reproduce by producing seeds and have a vascular system, roots, stems, and leaves.

Fronds

The leafy structures by which ferns are recognized.

Spores

Reproductive units seen as brown dots on the underside of fern fronds.

Lignin

Special chemicals that strengthen vascular tissue in trees, allowing them to reach heights of up to $100\,m$.

Gymnosperms

Seed plants whose seeds are not enclosed but are instead protected by the scales of a cone.

Conifers

A collective name for cone-bearing trees, including pine and spruce.

Angiosperms

The most recently evolved plant group, consisting of flowering plants where seeds are enclosed in fruit.

Stamen

The male reproductive part of a flower consisting of the anther and the filament.

Anther

The specific part of the stamen where male gametophyte production occurs.

Carpel (Pistil)

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

Receptacle

The base of the flower where all four whorls (sepals, petals, stamen, and carpels) attach.

Monoecious

A reproductive variation meaning 'one house,' where staminate (male) and carpellate (female) flowers are located on the same plant.

Dioecious

A reproductive variation meaning 'two houses,' where staminate and carpellate flowers are on different plants.

Simple Fruits

Fruits that develop from a single ovary, such as peaches, cherries, and apples.

Aggregate Fruits

Fruits that develop from a single flower with many carpals, such as strawberries and raspberries.

Multiple Fruits

Fruits that develop from a group of tightly clustered flowers, such as pineapples.

Cotyledon

An embryo leaf in the seed of a plant; the first leaf or one of the first pair of leaves growing from a seed.

Monocot

A type of plant with one cotyledon, fibrous roots, scattered vascular bundles, and leaves with parallel veins.

Dicot

A type of plant with two cotyledons, tap roots, ringed vascular bundles, and net-like leaf veins.

Endosperm

A nutrient-rich material in some seeds that provides food for the embryo.

Dormancy

A state of extremely slow biological activity where a seed contains a living embryo but does not grow.

Germination

The process triggered by water absorption where the seed coat ruptures and the root and shoot emerge.

Calvaria

A tree species that requires its seeds to pass through the digestive tract of a specific animal, such as a dodo bird or turkey, to germinate.