PLANTS Redwood picture

Plants are broken into two main divisions: Non vascular – did not have tubelike tissues to move water and food: mosses, liverworts and hornworts Vascular – have tubelike tissues that move water and food through the plants: Ferns, gymnosperms and angiosperms

Fern Vascular plants Two types: Seedless – ferns, horsetails & club mosses Seed plants – gymnosperms and angiosperms Angiosperm Gymnosperm

Gymnosperms Four major characteristics of gymnosperms are 1) Seeds are not enclosed in a fruit 2) Do not produce flowers 3) Leaves are needlelike 4) Many are evergreen

Major Gymnosperms Cycads – look like a palm tree Ginkgo – has a split leave Gnetophytes – an ornamental bush or shrub Conifers are cone bearing Gymnosperms - spruce, firs, junipers and pine trees – (Many look like Christmas trees) Redwoods are the tallest conifer

cycad spruce Pine tree ginkgo gnetophyta

Other Characteristics of Gymnosperms They secrete (produce) a sticky substance called resin Cones contain the unprotected seed of a conifer (cone is the “fruit”) The wood of conifers is softwood, so it is widely used in the building industry Fragrant wood for closets and chests is cedar

ANGIOSPERMS Major characteristics of angiosperms are 1) Produce Flowers 2) Lose their leaves in winter (usually) 3) Produce a fruit in which their seeds are contained

One type of Angiosperm is a Monocots (characteristics) One seed coat (monocotyledon) Long narrow leaves Flower parts in multiples of threes Examples – grass, wheat, orchids, palm tree, tiger lily

Another type of Angiosperm is Dicot (characteristics) 1) Two seed coats (dicotyledon) 2) Broad leaves 3) Flowers in multiples of fours or fives Examples – cactus, oaks, magnolia trees, lima beans, rose, maples, sunflowers

Flower Parts /Peduncle

Flower Parts and Their Functions Stamen – male part of the flower Filament – the stalk of the stamen Pistil – female part of the flower Style – connects stigma and ovary Stigma – sticky top of the pistil Ovary – swollen base of the pistil Petal – colorful part of the flower Sepals – tiny leaves that protect the flower bud

Pollination and Fertilization of plants Pollination – transfer of pollen from the anther of one flower to the stigma of another flower Fertilization – the pollen forms a tube which grows down into the egg, and the sperm (pollen) unites with the egg (ovule) to form a seed.

XYLEM AND PHLOEM Xylem and Phloem are like the “arteries and veins” of animals. Xylem takes water and minerals from the roots and upward into the plants Phloem (food) takes nutrients (glucose) from the leaves and downward throughout the plant