Copyright by Holt, Rinohart and Winston. All rights rosorvod.

Interactive Textbook 25? Introduction to Plants

5ECIION
1
What Is a P|aot!
Introduction to Plants
Namo Class Dato
After you read this section, you shouId be abIe to answer
these questions:

What charactoristics do all plants sharo?

What aro two difforoncos botwoon plant colls and

animal colls?
What Are the Characteristics of PIants!
A plant is an organism that usos sunlight to mako food.
Troos, grassos, forns, cactusos, and dandolions aro all
typos of plants. Plants can look vory difforont, but thoy all
sharo four charactoristics.
are covered
by a cuticle
have cell walls
make their
own food
have a two-stage
life cycle
Plants
PHOIO5YNIHE5I5
Plants mako thoir own food from carbon dioxido,
wator, and onorgy from sunlight. This procoss is callod
jholosnlhess. Photosynthosis takos placo in spocial
organollos callod ch|oroj|asls. Insido tho chloroplasts, a
groon pigmont callod ch|orojh|| collocts onorgy from tho
sun for photosynthosis. Chlorophyll is what makos most
plants look groon. Animal colls do not havo chloroplasts.
CUIICLE5
Evory plant has a cuticlo that covors and protocts it.
A cvlc|e is a waxy layor that coats a plant's loavos and
stom. Tho cuticlo koops plants from drying out by koop-
ing wator insido tho plant.
CELL WALL5
How do plants stay upright? Thoy do not havo skolotons,
as many animals do. Instoad, oach plant coll is surroundod
by a stiff coll wall. Tho coll wall is outsido tho coll mom-
brano. Coll walls support and protoct tho plant coll. Animal
colls do not havo coll walls.
8EFDRE D0 RE40
NationaI 5cience
Education 5tandards
L5 1a, 2b, 4c, 5a

0rganize As you read, make
a diagram to show the major
groups of plants. e sure to
include the characteristics of
each group.
RE40INC CHECK
1. Dene What is chlorophyll!
ChAPIk 14

Copyright by Holt, Rinohart and Winston. All rights rosorvod.
Interactive Textbook 25S Introduction to Plants
5ECIION 1
Namo Class Dato
What Is a Plant!
Large centraI vacuoIe
A vacuole stores water
and helps support
the cell.
CeII waII The cell wall
surrounds the cell mem-
brane. It supports and
protects the plant cell.
ChIoropIast Chloroplasts contain
chlorophyll. Chlorophyll captures
energy from the sun. Plants use this
energy to make food.
CeII membrane
The cell membrane sur-
rounds a plant cell and
lies under the cell wall.
5tructures in a Plant Cell
IWO-5IACE LIFE CYCLE
Many organisms, including plants, produco offspring
whon a sporm joins with an ogg. This is callod sexva|
rejrodvclon. In animals, soxual roproduction happons in
ovory gonoration. Howovor, plants do not produco sporm
and oggs in ovory gonoration.
Instoad, plants havo a two-stago lifo cyclo. This moans
that thoy nood two gonorations to produco oggs and sporm.
In tho sjorojhle stago, a plant makos sporos. A sporo is
a coll that can divido and grow into a now plant. This now
plant is callod a qauelojhle. In tho gamotophyto stago,
tho plants produco sporm and oggs. Tho sporm and oggs
must join to produco a now sporophyto.
What Are the Main Croups of PIants!
Thoro aro two main groups of plants: vascular and
nonvascular. A vaacuIar pIanI has spocializod vascular
tissuos. Vascv|ar lssves movo wator and nutrionts from
ono part of a plant to anothor. A nonvaacuIar pIanI doos
not havo vascular tissuos to movo wator and nutrionts.
Ibe Main 0rougs of Plants
Ferns, horsetails,
and club mosses
Nonflowering
Cymnosperms
Flowering
Angiosperms
Seedless plants Seed plants
Vascular Plants
Mosses, liverworts,
and hornworts
Nonvascular Plants

2. Identify What structure in
a plant cell stores water!
J. Identify Where is
chlorophyll found!
RE40INC CHECK
4. List What are the two
stages of the plant life cycle!
Copyright by Holt, Rinohart and Winston. All rights rosorvod.
Interactive Textbook 259 Introduction to Plants
5ECIION 1
Namo Class Dato
What Is a Plant!
NONVA5CULAk PLANI5
Nonvascular plants dopond on diffusion to movo wator
and nutrionts through tho plant. In dffvson, wator and
nutrionts movo through a coll mombrano and into a coll.
Each coll must got wator and nutrionts from tho onviron-
mont or a coll that is closo by.
Nonvascular plants can roly on diffusion bocauso thoy
aro small. If a nonvascular plant woro largo, not all of its
colls would got onough wator and nutrionts. Most nonvas-
cular plants livo in damp aroas, so oach of thoir colls is
closo to wator.
VA5CULAk PLANI5
Many of tho plants wo soo in gardons and forosts aro
vascular plants. Vascular plants aro dividod into two
groups: soodloss plants and sood plants. Sood plants aro
dividod into two moro groupsflowing and nonflowor-
ing. Nonfloworing sood plants, such as pino troos, aro
callod gymnoaperma. Floworing sood plants, such as
magnolias, aro callod angioaperma.
How Did PIants EvoIve!
What would you soo if you travolod back in timo
about 44O million yoars? Tho Earth would bo a strango,
baro placo. Thoro would bo no plants on land. Whoro did
plants como from?
Tho groon alga in tho figuro bolow may look liko a plant,
but it is not. Howovor, it doos sharo somo charactoristics
with plants. Both algao and plants havo tho samo kind of
chlorophyll and mako thoir food by photosynthosis. Liko
plants, algao also havo a two-stago lifo cyclo. Sciontists
think thoso similaritios moan that plants ovolvod from a
spocios of groon algao millions of yoars ago.
A modern green alga and plants,
such as ferns, share several
characteristics. ecause of this,
scientists think that both types
of organisms shared an ancient
ancestor.
,-...e-! J-.--.-_
5. AppIy Concepts Do you
think a sunhower is a
gymnosperm or an angio-
sperm! Explain your answer.
5IANDAkD5 CHECK
L5 5a Millions of species of ani-
mals, plants, and microorganisms
are alive today. Although different
species might look dissimilar, the
unity among organisms becomes
apparent from an analysis of in-
ternal structures, the similarity of
their chemical processes, and the
evidence of common ancestry.
Word Helg: evidence
information showing
whether an idea is true or
valid
6. List Cive three rea-
sons scientists think plants
evolved from an ancient
green algae.
Copyright by Holt, Rinohart and Winston. All rights rosorvod.
Interactive Textbook 260 Introduction to Plants
Namo Class Dato
5ECIION VOCAULAkY
angiosgerm a howering plant that produces
seeds within a fruit
gymnosgerm a woody, vascular seed plant
whose seeds are not enclosed by an ovary
or fruit
nonvascular glant the three groups of plants
(liverworts, hornworts, and mosses) that lack
specialized conducting tissues and true roots,
stems, and leaves
vascular glant a plant that has specialized
tissues that conduct materials from one part
of the plant to another
1. ExpIain What aro tho two main difforoncos botwoon a plant coll and an animal coll?
2. Organize Fill in oach box in tho figuro bolow with ono of tho main charactoristics
of plants.
Plants
3. Predict What would happon to a plant if its chloroplasts stoppod working? Explain
your answor.
4. Compare What is tho main difforonco botwoon vascular and nonvascular plants?
Sertoo 1 kevew N5E5 L5 1a, 2b, 4c, 5a