Plant Characteristics
What is botany?
The study of plants.
What is vascular tissue?
Tissue that transports water and sugars throughout a plant.
What is the haploid plant stage called?
Gametophyte.
Name one example of a bryophyte.
Moss, liverwort, or hornwort.
What is a seed?
A structure containing a plant embryo and a food supply.
What process do plants use to produce food?
Photosynthesis.
What are the two types of vascular tissue?
Xylem and phloem.
What is the diploid plant stage called?
Sporophyte.
Name three major groups of tracheophytes.
Ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.
What are the two major angiosperm groups based on seed leaves?
Monocots and dicots.
What type of organisms have cells with a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles?
Eukaryotes.
Which vascular tissue carries water and minerals to the leaves?
Xylem.
What process produces haploid spores from the sporophyte?
Meiosis.
What structures anchor bryophytes to the ground?
Rhizoids
How many cotyledons do monocots and dicots have?
Monocots have one; dicots have two.
What substance makes up plant cell walls?
Cellulose.
Which vascular tissue transports food made in the leaves?
Phloem.
What is the life cycle that alternates between gametophyte and sporophyte stages called?
Alternation of generations.
What are the two main groups of seed-producing tracheophytes?
Gymnosperms and angiosperms.
How can fruits help disperse seeds?
Fruits can be carried by wind or water, or eaten by animals that later deposit seeds elsewhere.
Name four general characteristics of plants.
Plants are autotrophic, non-motile, eukaryotic, and multicellular. Their cell walls contain cellulose.
What are plants without vascular tissue called, and what are plants with vascular tissue called?
Bryophytes lack vascular tissue; tracheophytes have vascular tissue.
Describe the sequence from sporophyte to gametophyte and back to sporophyte.
The sporophyte produces spores by meiosis. Spores grow into gametophytes, which produce gametes. Fertilization forms a diploid zygote that develops into a new sporophyte.
How do gymnosperms and angiosperms differ in how their seeds are held?
Gymnosperms have exposed seeds, often on cone scales; angiosperms have seeds enclosed in fruits.
Name two adaptations that help plants reduce water loss.
Examples include a thick cuticle, sunken stomata, small leaf hairs, and protective bark.