Roots
What are the two main functions of roots?
To absorb nutrients/water from the soil and anchor the plant in the ground.
What are the two types of stems?
Woody & herbaceous
What are the four parts of trees that animals eat?
bark, leaves, twigs, roots
What is a geophyte?
An earth-plant, like an onion
If you carved your name in a tree, why would it stay in the same place even as the tree grew taller?
Trees grow by adding cells to the top
What are root hairs and what do they do?
soft downy roots that do most of the absorption of water
What are "auxins"?
Special chemicals that cause the plant to bend towards the light
What is a "seedling"?
A tree seed that is just beginning to grow
What is a rhizome?
Underground stems
Why do cactus not have leaves?
Because leaves transpire water and cactus can't afford to lose water in the dry desert
What is a taproot?
One thick main root growing down from the stem
What is phototropism?
When a plant turns towards light
Define "masting" of an oak tree.
When an oak tree has a year when it produces an enormous amount of nuts and litters the ground with them.
What is a tuber?
An underground stem swollen in to a big lump, like a potato
What is an angiosperm?
plant the produces flowers
What is a fibrous root system?
As series of roots growing in many directions
What are vascular bundles?
bundles of tubes that send water up (xylem) & food down (phloem)
What is bark?
The shield of protection for the vascular bundles & vascular cambium
What type of tree makes pinecones?
Evergreen
Besides food, what else do trees provide for animals?
Homes, protection from predators in branches or in root tunnels underground. Or oxygen for breathing. Reduce erosion, etc
Define geotropism
refers to the fact that roots always turn towards the Earth ("Earth-turning")
What is the vascular cambium?
Layer of cells just inside the surface of the stem that contain the vascular bundles
What is a deciduous tree?
A tree that loses it's leaves in winter.
What are the five layers of a tree? Start from outward to the center
Bark, inner bark, vascular cambium, sapwood, heartwood
How much water does a tree lose through transpiration?
90%