Life of A Flowering Plant Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering flowering plant structure, growth, tissues, anatomy, reproduction, and germination based on the Chapter 20 lecture transcript.

Shoot system

The plant part located above ground mainly designed for collecting light, photosynthesis, reproduction, and nutrient transport.

Root system

The plant part located below ground mainly designed for water and nutrient acquisition, anchorage, and starch storage.

Apical meristems

Growth areas located at the root and shoot tips.

Petiole

The stalk of the leaf that attaches it to the stem.

Blade

The wide part of the leaf.

Flower

A non-photosynthetic structure that contains the reproductive organs.

Internode

The space between adjacent leaves.

Bud

Growth area of stems, leaves, and flowers; can be terminal (at top) or lateral (on sides).

Stem

The structure that holds the plant upright.

Meristems

Specialized regions that contain undifferentiated cells which divide by mitosis to form new cells.

Primary growth

Growth that increases the height of the plant and develops specialized structures through mitosis at the apical meristems.

Secondary growth

Growth that increases the girth of stems and roots through mitosis at the lateral meristems.

Herbaceous plants

Plants such as grasses, beans, and lettuce that never show secondary growth and usually live for only one year.

Woody plants

Plants like bushes, shrubs, and deciduous trees that always show primary and secondary growth and usually live for many years.

Plant hormones

Chemicals produced in various parts of the plant and transported in the phloem that stimulate growth and activities like fruit ripening.

Heartwood

Older xylem which no longer conducts but lends support and stores metabolic wastes such as gums, resins, and oils.

Sapwood

Younger xylem which still conducts fluid.

Bark

The tough outer layer of cells that protects the inner tissues of woody plants.

Dermal tissue

Tissue that covers the plant’s outer surface, consisting of the epidermis and the peridermis.

Epidermis

The outer layer of thin, flat cells covered by a waxy cuticle.

Peridermis

The cell layer that forms new cells to replace dead epidermal cells.

Ground tissue

Tissue that forms the major part of a young, growing plant’s body.

Vascular tissue

A system of pipelines that transport water and nutrient fluids throughout the plant.

Parenchyma cells

Thin-walled cells involved in photosynthesis, hormone secretion, support, and food storage.

Collenchyma cells

Elongated, honeycomb-shaped living cells used for support in young growing plants and herbaceous plants.

Sclerenchyma cells

Thick-walled, dead cells used to support adult plants and fruit structures like nut shells.

Xylem

Vascular tissue that conducts water and minerals up from the roots to the rest of the plant.

Phloem

Vascular tissue that conducts water, sugar, amino acids, and hormones throughout the plant.

Tracheids

Needle-like, dead cells in the xylem that form tubes to pass water vertically or horizontally.

Vessel elements

Wide, dead cells in the xylem that form tubes to pass water up and down the plant.

Sieve-tube element

Living but not metabolically active phloem cells that pass sugars and organic molecules; separated by sieve plates.

Companion cells

Phloem cells that regulate and nourish the sieve tube elements.

Cuticle

A waxy, waterproof covering on the leaf used to prevent water loss.

Stoma

Openings (also called stomata) that allow gas exchange, specifically $CO_2$ in and $O_2$ and $H_2O$ vapor out.

Guard cells

Cells that surround the stoma and control their opening and closing based on turgor pressure.

Bundle-sheath cell

Cells that surround xylem and phloem, forming a vascular bundle or leaf vein.

Mesophyll

The interior space of a leaf comprised of a palisade layer and a spongy layer where photosynthesis occurs.

Pith

The center part of a stem made of parenchyma cells that supports the plant and stores food.

Vascular cambium

Meristematic tissue that forms new xylem and phloem in the stem.

Tap root

A kind of root that anchors the plant in the ground; found in dicots.

Root cap

A structure that protects the growing root tip and secretes a lubricant as it grows into new areas.

Endodermis

A layer of closely packed cells that surrounds the vascular cylinder in a root.

Pericycle

The layer closest to the endodermis that conducts water and nutrients into the xylem and phloem.

Casparian strip

A waxy layer that causes water to move into the vascular cylinder instead of only inside the endodermal cells.

Transpiration

The process where water evaporates through the stomata of leaves.

Fungal mycorrhizae

Symbiotic fungi that help plants acquire nutrients by releasing enzymes to weather rocks.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Bacteria in root nodules that convert soil nitrogen into ammonium or nitrate ions for plant use.

Monocots

Angiosperms with scattered vascular bundles, fibrous roots, $1$ cotyledon, and flower parts in multiples of $3$.

Dicots

Angiosperms with vascular bundles in a ring, taproots, $2$ cotyledons, and flower parts in multiples of $4$ or $5$.

Stamen

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

Carpel

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

Complete flowers

Flowers that contain all four parts: sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels.

Microspores

Four haploid cells formed from the microspore mother cell via meiosis that develop into pollen grains.

Double fertilization

The process where one sperm fertilizes the egg and another fuses with $2$ polar nuclei to form triploid endosperm.

Endosperm

Triploid nutrient tissue surrounding the embryo within the seed.

Coleoptile

A protective sheath that covers the growing shoot in monocots.

Epicotyl

The area of the shoot above the cotyledons in dicots.

Hypocotyl

The area of the shoot below the cotyledons in dicots.