Gymnosperms v. Angiosperms
These types of plants are commonly known as "flowering plants" and make up about 90% of all land species.
What are angiosperms?
The prefixes "mono-" and "di-" in these plant classes refer directly to the number of these embryonic seed leaves found inside the seed.
What are cotyledons?
What are annuals?
Dicots usually feature this main, central root that grows straight down into the soil, like a carrot.
What is a taproot?
An apple tree produces beautiful blossoms and encloses its seeds in a delicious fruit, putting it firmly into this massive plant group.
What is an angiosperm?
This term is commonly known as a "naked seed" because these plants do not enclose their seeds inside a protective fruit.
What are gymnosperms?
If you walk outside and look closely at a blade of grass or a corn leaf, you will notice this type of straight, side-by-side vein arrangement typical of monocots.
What is parallel venation?
Trees, shrubs, and many backyard flowers belong to this group, which keeps living and growing year after year.
What are perennials?
This type of root system, typical of monocots, consists of a thick mat of slender, highly branched roots spreading out near the surface.
What is a fibrous root system?
Oak trees lose their leaves in the fall and grow new ones in the spring for decades, making them a perfect example of this lifespan category.
What is a perennial?
Pine trees, redwoods, and cycads all belong to this specific group of non-flowering seed plants.
What are gymnosperms?
Dicot leaves are easily identified by this branching, web-like pattern of veins.
What is netted (reticulate) venation?
These unique plants need two full years to complete their life cycle, spending the first year growing leaves and the second year blooming and making seeds.
What are biennials?
Because they lack a special lateral meristem tissue called cambium, most monocots cannot grow this hard, protective outer layer.
What is wood (or bark)?
Because a single corn seed cannot be split cleanly in half like a peanut, corn is classified as this type of flowering plant.
What is a monocot?
If a plant relies on colorful petals and sweet nectar to attract bees and birds for pollinatio, it belongs to this group.
What are angiosperms?
If you count 3, 6, or 9 petals on a flower, the plant is a monocot; if yu count 4 or 5 petals, it belongs to this class.
What is a dicot?
Carrots, onions, and foxglove flowers are famous examples of this specific two-year life cycle group.
What are biennials?
These are the two types of transport tissues found inside vascular bundles that move water up from the roots and sugar down from the leaves.
What are xylem and phloem?
Sunflowers have taproots, flowers with petals in multiples of 5, and seeds that split into two halves, placing them in this class.
What is a dicot?
While angiosperms use flowers to reproduce, gymnosperms rely heavily on this invisible force to carry pollen from male cones to female cones.
What is wind?
What is a ring?
Marigolds, watermelons, and tomatoes must be replanted every single spring because they belong to this lifespan group.
What are annuals?
While most perennials develop woody stems to survive freezing winters, most annual plants ave this soft, green, and juicy type of stem.
What is a herbaceous stem?
A giant Christmas tree (like a Fraser Fir) reproduces using cones and needles rather than flowers, meaning it belongs to this group.
What is a gymnosperm?