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What Is a Plant. Adapting to Life On Land. First fossil evidence of plants – 500 million years ago. Simple structures – no leaves. Evolved from green algae. Adaptations: Preventing Water Loss. Cuticle: protective waxy layer around fruits, leaves, and stems. Prevents evaporation of water.
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Adapting to Life On Land • First fossil evidence of plants – 500 million years ago. • Simple structures – no leaves. • Evolved from green algae.
Adaptations: Preventing Water Loss • Cuticle: protective waxy layer around fruits, leaves, and stems. • Prevents evaporation of water.
Adaptations:Leaves for Photosynthesis • In filamentous green algae, all cells carry out photosynthesis. • In plants leaves are specialized to make sugar.
Adaptations:Roots • Plants must get water and nutrients from soil. • Anchor plant in ground. • Some act as storage organs.
Transporting Materials • Water must move from root to leaves. • Sugars must move from leaves to roots. • Stem: strong fibers allow upright growth. • Also have tissues for transport of food, water, and minerals. • Vascular tissues – tube like cells. • Some plants are nonvascular: mosses, hornworts and liverworts. • Water and nutrients move slowly by osmosis and diffusion.
Reproductive Strategies • Some use seeds: • Embryo, food supply, protective coat. • Protect from drying and aid in dispersal. • Some use spores: • Single haploid cell with hard outer wall. • Non-seed plants(mosses and ferns): • Sperm swim through film of water to egg. • Seed plants (conifers and flowering): • Sperm (pollen) does not need to swim.
Alternation of Generations • 2 stages: • Gametophyte (n)haploid – makes gametes. • Sporophyte (2n)diploid – makes spores by meiosis. (Spores are haploid). • Non-seed vascular plants (ferns): • Spores release directly into environment and grow into haploid gametophytes. • Seed plants: • Spores retained by parent plant and develop into gametophytes only a few cells in size.