FERNS, GYMNOSPERMS
AND ANGIOSPERMS
FERNS
• Leaves referred to as fronds
• Fronds emerge tightly coiled
• Croziers or fiddleheads
• Main stem with “leaflets”
• Pinnae
FERNS
• Rust-colored spots on lower leaf
surface
• Sori
• Packets of spores
• One beech fern can produce
50 million spores
FERNS
• Adapted to shady, wet locations
• Rock crevices
• Moist soil
GYMNOSPERMS
• Gymnos
• Naked
• Sperma
• Seed
• Seeds develop on a surface
rather than inside a fruit
GYMNOSPERMS
• Conifers
• Cone-bearing
• Heavy resin production
• Turpentine
• Paint solvent
• Rosin
• Athletic hand drier
• When conifer bleeds, turpentine
evaporates quickly
• Rosin acts as a gummy
protective layer
GYMNOSPERMS
Conifers
• Pines
• Needlelike foliage clustered in
bundles
• Fascicle
• 2 to 5 needles per fascicle
GYMNOSPERMS
Conifers
• Pines
• Fascicles drop within 2 to 5 years
• Bristlecone pine fascicles last 30
years
• Oldest living tree
GYMNOSPERMS
Conifers
• Tolerate cold weather
• Frozen topsoil
• High winds
• Hypodermis
• Layer of thick-walled cells
beneath the epidermis
• Tolerant of extreme cold
• Resists insects and disease
• Bark extremely thick
• As much as 3”
GYMNOSPERMS
Conifers
• Pines
• Contain no fiber tissue
• Softwood
• Broadleaf trees contain fibers
• Hardwood
GYMNOSPERMS
Conifers
• Pines
• Wide growth rings
• Rapid growth rate in spring
GYMNOSPERMS
Conifers
• Pines
• Symbiotic relationship with
ectomycorrhizal fungi
• Seedlings grow poorly in
sterile soil
• Until inoculated with
mycorrhizae
• Mycorrhizae interweaves root
systems in a forest
GYMNOSPERMS
Conifers
• Pines
• Pollen cones on tips of lower
branches
• 50 cones in a cluster
• Each cone can produce 1 million
pollen grains
GYMNOSPERMS
Conifers
• Pines
• Seed cones on upper branches
• Require 2 seasons to mature
• After pollination, scales close to protect
developing embryo
• Open a year later
• Seeds have papery wings
• Squirrels and other animals disperse
• Some species stay closed until seared
with fire
GYMNOSPERMS
Conifers
• Non-cone bearing conifers
• Fleshy berry-like seeds
• Yews (Taxus) produce fleshy
cap partially covering seed
• False yews (Podocarpus)
• Junipers
GYMNOSPERMS
Ginkgo
• Very few insects and
diseases affect ginkgo
• Flesh around large nut-like
seed
• Smells like vomit
• Seed a delicacy in China
GYMNOSPERMS
Cycads
• Sago palm
ANGIOSPERMS
• Angeion
• Vessel
• Sperma
• Seed
ANGIOSPERMS
Parasitic plants
• Take food and water from host
• Dodder
• Mistletoe
ANGIOSPERMS
Epiphytes
• Use host for structural support
• Feed on decomposing organic matter
• Orchid
• Spanish moss
ANGIOSPERMS
• Pollination
• Transfer of pollen grain (n) to stigma
• n = 1 set of chromosomes
• Pollen tube grows down to the ovule (n)
• Located in ovary
• Corn is a 20” trip
ANGIOSPERMS
• Fertilization
• Pollen tube delivers sperm
• Union of sperm and ovule
• Happens days, weeks, or months
after pollination
• Zygote (2n)
ANGIOSPERMS
Double fertilization
• Endosperm develops in addition to zygote
• Nutritive tissue
• Food until PS begins
• Monocots
• Corn
• Very noticeable
• Dicots
• Legume (beans, etc)
• Visually insignificant
ANGIOSPERMS
Asexual reproduction
• Parthenocarpic
• Seeds in ovary develop from 2n
nutritive cell
• No union of sperm and ovule
• Seedless fruit develops
• Bananas
• Naval oranges
ANGIOSPERMS
Complete flower
• Calyx
• Corolla
• Stamens
• Pistil
Incomplete flower
• Any part is missing
ANGIOSPERMS
Perfect flower
• Stamens and pistil
Imperfect flower
• Stamens (male) or pistil (female)
ANGIOSPERMS
Monoecious
• Male and female flowers on same
plant
• “One house”
ANGIOSPERMS
Dioecious
• Male and female flowers on
different plant
• Male flower plants called
pollinators
• Wax myrtle
• Blueberries
• Fruit trees
ANGIOSPERMS
Pollinators
• Bees harvest nectar for food
• Pollen to feed larvae
• Mostly blue or yellow flowers
• Fragrant flowers
ANGIOSPERMS
Pollinators
• Beetles
• Poor visual sense
• Attracted to aromatic flowers
ANGIOSPERMS
Pollinators
• Moths and butterflies
• Aromatic flowers
ANGIOSPERMS
Pollinators
• Birds
• Hummingbirds
• Yellow or red
ANGIOSPERMS
Pollinators
• Flies and gnats
• Rancid aromatic flowers
• Rotten meat
• Carrion flowers
ANGIOSPERMS
Orchids
• Very diverse
• 25,000 species
• Specialized pollination methods
• Bee orchid example
• Mating pheromone attracts male suitor
• Searches flower and finds no female
• Pissed off suitor flies to another flower far
away
• Ensures gene mixing
• New species likely