WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF
PLANTS?

ALL PLANTS:
ARE MULTI-CELLULAR
Made of more than one cell.
ARE MACROSCOPIC
Can be seen with the naked eye.

PLANT CELLS
WHAT TYPE OF CELLS
ARE PLANT CELLS?
Nucleus

PLANT CELLS
Cell Wall
The cell wall is made primarily of CELLULOSE , a complex carbohydrate.
• Keeps the cell from rupturing
• Prevents water loss
• Shape and protection

PLANT CELLS
Vacuole
Vacuoles are membrane-bound spaces used for temporary storage of materials.

PLANT CELLS
Chloroplast
The chloroplasts are cell organelles that capture light energy and produce food (glucose) to store.
They contain the photosynthetic pigment, CHLOROPHYLL . This primary photoreceptor absorbs the light energy.
CHLOROS “green”, PHYLLON “leaf”

Chloroplast

Granum in Latin literally means
“stack of coins”.
Thylakoid: derived from Greek word thylakos, meaning “sac”.

ALL PLANTS: are
(also called producers ) because they can produce their own food.

2
2
6
12
6
2

There are a few plants that are also heterotrophs :
They attract, capture, and kill organisms (mostly insects) and absorb the nutrients from their prey.
Venus flytrap
Trumpet
English Sundew

Without plants, we wouldn’t have chocolate, tea, or coffee

All plants reproduce sexually.
Some can also reproduce asexually.
ALTERNATION
OF
GENERATIONS
During their lives, all plants alternate between: a haploid (half the chromosomes) gametophyte (produces gametes) stage and a diploid (complete set of chromosomes) sporophyte (produces spores) stage

Some plants are terrestrial
Some plants are aquatic

Plants vary in size
Rafflesia
Duckweed Redwood trees
Can get up to 350 ft tall

Brassica rapa: 40 days
Bristlecone Pine: 5000 years

Green algae and plants both have: cell walls made of cellulose contain chlorophyll store food in the form of starch

KINGDOM PLANTAE
Contains: 12 Phyla or Divisions
There are 300,000 species of plants!

1.Plants are… a.Unicellular prokaryotic heterotrophs b.Multicellular prokaryotic heterotrophs c.Unicellular eukaryotic photoautotrophs d.Multicellular eukaryotic photoautotrophs

2.Most plants fill the ____________________ trophic level in the food web.
a. Decomposer b. Producer c. Primary consumer d. Secondary consumer

3.The cell walls of plant cells contain a.Peptidoglycan
b.Glucose
c.Wax
d.Cellulose

4.Which of the following is an indirect way in which humans depend upon plants?
a. We use plants for food b. We depend upon plants for shelter and building materials c. We eat herbivores d. We use plants for medicinal reasons because of their curative value

5. The food which plants manufacture with the help of the sun’s energy is… a. Simple glucose b. Protein c. Peptidoglycan d. cellulose

9.Why are plants eukaryotes?
a. Because their cells are complex and contain membrane-bound organelles b. Because their cells are simple and do not contain a true nucleus or membrane-bound organelles c. Because they contain chlorophyll which helps them use the sun’s energy to make food.
d. Because they are multicellular