Leaf Venation
Simple vs Compound Leaves
1
Week
#

To do
Plant your seeds (See Planting
your Seeds Protocol above)
Water your plants

Water your plants

If flowers are present, pollinate
your plants (See Pollinate your
plants Protocol below)
Water your plants
Pollinate plants 2-4 days later
again

1
Monitoring Fast Plant Growth
SEEDLINGS
STEM
LEAF
#
Height
Type of
Emerged Color
(cm)
Arrangement Venation
2
3




4



5

Pinch off all unopened buds and
shoots
Prepare the setup described in
(Monitoring seed and root
development below)
Water your plants
Water your plants
Pinch off all unopened buds and
shoots
Examine the seedlings and
developing roots
2
FLOWER
#
#
Emerged
Petals
POD
#
Size
Present
(cm)
The table above is designed to help you keep track of your plants. The “To do” column is based on
the standard growth rate of these plants (Fig. 1). However, you might find that your plants grow
slower or faster than the timeline presented in Figure 1. Growth rate is affected by various
conditions, including temperature and light availability. If you find that your plants are growing
slower than the timeline suggests, then you will need to follow the instructions one (or more) weeks
slower. For example, in order to pollinate during Week 3, your plants need to have flowers. If no
flowers have been produced, then you cannot perform the recommended tasks for Week 3. You will
need to wait until flowers are present (maybe during Week 3 or 4) to proceed with Week 3
instructions. As you track the growth of your plants, make sure to record all observable phenotypic
characteristics in the appropriate columns.
Figure 1. Life cycle of Brassica rapa
3
Week 4: Monitoring seed and root development
This week you will extract the seeds from the pods of your Brassica rapa plants.
A. Materials Required:




1 petri dish labeled with your section #, TA name and group number
1 kimwipe
5 seeds
Tupperware container (1 per class)
B. Procedure:
1. Place a kimwipe into the petri dish.
a. Leave the edges of the kimwipe outside of the petri dish.
2. Add water until the kimwipe is wet, but not so wet that water drips out of the petri
dish. Pour out any excess water if present.
3. Place 5 of your seeds in a neat row in the center of the filter paper.
4. Cover the petri dish and stand it upright in the Tupperware container in about 2cm of
water.
5. Tilt the dish slightly so that water collects at the bottom.
a. Seeds should be above the water level
6. Place the Tupperware container under the lamp (Fig. 4).
Figure 4. Seedling setup
4
7. During your next lab period, you will observe your seedlings (Fig. 5) noting
characteristics in table below. Make sure that you are able to identify the following
structures:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Radicle (embryonic root)
Hypocotyl (embryonic stem)
Cotyledons (two seed leaves)
Seed
Figure 5. Fast plant seedlings
Seedling #
TRACKING ROOT DEVELOPMENT
Root Length
Type of Root System
(cm)
(Taproot/Fibrous)
1
2
3
4
5
5
Presence of
Root hairs?