Conifers By:Kiley MacDonald and Amy Macinnis IMAGE- SPRUCE TREE

Phylogenetic Tree This starts with the origin of plants Over millions of years they evolved in to FOUR species as seen. We are going further into the class Conifers! Also known as Gymnosperms, which are seed producing plants.

Characteristics of the Plant Kingdom Plants are all autotrophs, meaning they can make their own food Almost all plants are multicellular Plants are Eukaryotes. This means their cells are more complex than those that are prokaryotes! Plants have a cell wall They are sessile, which means they can not move. Produce sexually and asexually They all develop a self defence mechanism for protecting themselves from animals, fungi, and other plants

How the Plant Kingdom is Broken Down It is broken down into smaller divisions based on several characteristics: whether they can circulate fluids through their bodies or need to absorb them through the moisture that surrounds them How they reproduce, (seeds, spores, etc.) Their size or stature IMAGE- PINE TREE

Characteristics of Conifers Cell walls are made by sturdy material called cellulose They have chlorophyll which is needed for photosynthesis They are Eukaryotic They are multicellular Most conifers are autotrophs They grow by cell division Conifers reproduce sexually and asexually They are all gymnosperms Carry needles and cones

Life Cycle Female cones and male cones that generate two different types of spores. In spring, large amounts of pollen are released and carried by the wind. This starts the process of the pollen tube growth. Female cones contain two ovules per scale The seeds produced from the process to our left bury into the ground and grow into mature trees.

Food Making and Locomotion Plants have a chemical called chlorophyll that is used to go through the process of photosynthesis This diagram shows how the plant is rooted to the ground and does not move It also shows how the energy comes through the plant to create food! They take in carbon dioxide and then they release oxygen

FUN FACTS 1. Conifers are extremely important economically. They provide about 85% of all the wood used in building and furniture. 2. Since they absorb water through their roots, it help prevent erosion and control flooding. 3. A conifer called the ‘Pacific Yew’ was once the prime source of taxol, a cancer drug. It is a natural drug that shows promise in ovarian and breast cancer. IMAGE-PACIFIC YEW

Circulation - Conifer trees are designed to reduce water less in the winter. - Inside the trunk, there are tubes like our veins that carry the water flow, called tracheids. - In the tubes there are xylem vessels that flow the water through the tree

Gas Exchange Each leaf is responsible for their own gas exchange. It occurs through pores in the leaf called stomata. The stomata opens when light hits in the morning and closes at night. Photosynthesis requires carbon dioxide and water to produce carbohydrates, then oxygen is excreted as a waste product.

Digesting Food - Fungi breaks down old vegetation so that new trees have the room and the nutrients to grow. - Fungi is the forests ‘digestive system’

Excreting Waste Plants need to excrete excess carbon dioxide and oxygen. Carbon dioxide is a waste product of aerobic respiration in plant cells.  Respiration that requires oxygen Oxygen is a waste product of photosynthesis. The waste is excreted through the leaves through the stomata  Stomata are tiny holes on the skin of the leaf, on the underside of the leaf. They control water loss and gas exchange by opening and closing.

Changes in Classification Big changes in our climate is what researchers believe to have caused conifers to be better adapted to cooler and drier conditions. Researches also saw that lineages of conifers now in the Southern Hemisphere are millions of years older than ones in the Northern Hemisphere and believe it is because of more mild, wetter habitats. “Dramatic shifts in the planet's climate and geography over millions of years changed the course of evolutionary history for conifer trees.”

Bibliography html Exchange.html aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/g-6lh4re1eirdcg3m2teq7ga0 biology-textbook/seed-plants-26/gymnosperms-159/life-cycle- of-a-conifer / characteristics-examples.html plants.html