Name: Josue Campos
Lab 13 – Gymnosperms
1. Conifers are Gymnosperms, what does this mean?
a. It has organs that reproduce, also have pollen, seeds, and wood
2. How do the leaves of Gingko differ from the conifer’s leaves?
a. The Gingko has uniquely shaped leaves. The leaves are shaped like fans and are
deeply grooved in the middle. The leaves have a needle-like shape with a vein
in the center
3. In a botanical sense, what is a pollen grain?
a. It is a male gametophyte that is made by male cones. It is necessary to be used
for reproduction for it to enter the ovule and produce sperm for fertilization.
4. The development of a seed represents another major step in the evolution of plants.
What is an advantage of having seeds?
a. The advantage of having seeds is to protect the embryo plant. It has an ability
to spread its’ seeds to further distances for plants to multiply in large numbers
for more seeds to be produced.
5. In conifers that have both male and female cones in the same tree, often the female
cones are produced in the upper portion of the tree, while the male cones, on the
bottom, What are two advantages of the arrangement of the cones on the trees
a. Preventing self-pollination
b. Increasing seed dispersal
6. Conifers are normally called softwood while angiosperms are called hardwood, What
are the characteristics in the xylem that make this difference?
a. Softwood – the xylem creates a stripped-like and narrow pattern on the wood
making it soft
b. Hardwood – it has a more present look which makes it dense and hard