PLANT EVOLUTION AND

DIVERSITY

Prepared by:
Ms. Therese Angeli M. Magallanes

Bacteria

Archaea

Protists
Eukarya

Plants

Fungi

Animals

Figure 16.UN01

Plants
Plants

are terrestrial organisms that

include forms that have returned to water,
such as water lilies.

plant is

A
A

multicellular eukaryote

photoautotroph, making organic molecules

by photosynthesis

Reproductive
structures (such as
those in flowers)
contain spores
and gametes

Plant

Leaf performs
photosynthesis

Cuticle reduces water

loss; stomata regulate
gas exchange
Shoot supports plant
(and may perform
photosynthesis)

Alga

Surrounding
water supports
the alga

Whole alga
performs
photosynthesis;
absorbs water,
CO2, and
minerals from
the water

Roots anchor plant;

absorb water and
minerals from the
soil (aided by fungi)
Figure 16.1

Roots

Fungus

Root
surrounded
by fungus
Laura Coronado

Bio 10

Chapter 16

Figure 16.2

Plant Structures

Leaves are the main photosynthetic organs of most plants, with

Stomata for the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen with the
atmosphere

Vascular tissue for transporting vital materials

A waxy cuticle surface that helps the plant retain water

Vascular tissue in plants is also found in the

Roots

Shoots

Two types of vascular tissue exist in plants:

Xylem transports water and minerals from roots to leaves

Phloem distributes sugars from leaves to the roots and other

nonphotosynthetic parts of the plant

Leaves
Gametangia

Stomata
Cuticle
Lignin
Shoot
Vascular tissues

Roots

Figure 16.UN07

Phloem
Xylem

Vascular
tissue

Oak leaf
Figure 16.3

LM
Embryo
Maternal
tissue

Figure 16.4

The Origin of Plants from

Green Algae
The

algal ancestors of plants

Carpeted

moist fringes of lakes or coastal salt

marshes
First

evolved over 500 million years ago

Charophytes
Are

a modern-day lineage of green algae

May

resemble one of these early plant ancestors

LM

LM

Figure 16.5

PLANT DIVERSITY & EVOLUTION

The

history of the plant kingdom is a story of adaptation

to diverse terrestrial habitats.

The

fossil record chronicles four major periods of plant

evolution.

(1)

About 475 million years ago plants originated from an

algal ancestor giving rise to bryophytes, nonvascular
plants, including mosses, liverworts, and hornworts that
are nonvascular plants without
Lignified

walls

True

roots

True

leaves

Origin of seeds
(about 360 mya)

Gymnosperms

600

500

400

300

200

100

Angiosperms

Millions of years ago

Figure 16.6

Seed plants

Origin of flowers
(about 140 mya)

Land plants

Ferns and other

seedless vascular
plants

Origin of vascular tissue

(about 425 mya)

Vascular plants

Bryophytes

Seedless
vascular
plants

Origin of first terrestrial adaptations

(about 475 mya)

Ancestral
green algae

Nonvascular
plants
(bryophytes)

Charophytes (a group
of green algae)

Bryophytes

Ferns

Gymnosperms

Angiosperms

Figure 16.UN02

PLANT EVOLUTION
(2)

About 425 million years ago ferns evolved

With

But

vascular tissue hardened with lignin

without seeds

(3)

About 360 million years ago gymnosperms evolved

with seeds that consisted of an embryo packaged along
with a store of food within a protective covering but not
enclosed in any specialized chambers.

Today,

conifers, consisting mainly of cone-bearing trees

such as pines, are the most diverse and widespread
gymnosperms.

(4)

About 140 million years ago angiosperms evolved

with complex reproductive structures called flowers that
bear seeds within protective chambers called ovaries.

Plant Diversity
The

great majority of living plants

Are

angiosperms

Include

fruit and vegetable crops,

grains, grasses, and most trees

Are

represented by more than 250,000

species

PLANT DIVERSITY
Bryophytes
(nonvascular plants)

Ferns
(seedless vascular plants)

Gymnosperms
(naked-seed plants)

Angiosperms
(flowering plants)

Figure 16.7

Bryophytes
Bryophytes,
Sprawl

most commonly mosses

as low mats over acres of land

Need

water to reproduce because their

sperm swim to reach eggs within the female
gametangium

Have

two key terrestrial adaptations:

A waxy cuticle that helps prevent dehydration

The retention of developing embryos within the

mother plants gametangium

Figure 16.8

Spores
Spore capsule

Sporophyte

Gametophytes

Figure 16.9

Mosses
Mosses

have two distinct forms:

The

gametophyte, which produces gametes

The

sporophyte, which produces spores

The

life cycle of a moss exhibits an alternation

of generations shifting between the
gametophyte and sporophyte forms.

Mosses

and other bryophytes are unique in

having the gametophyte as the larger, more
obvious plant.

Spores
(n)

Gametophyte
(n)

Gametes:
sperm
and eggs
(n)
FERTILIZATION

MEIOSIS

Spore
capsule

Sporophyte
(2n)

Zygote
(2n)

Key
Haploid (n)
Diploid (2n)
Figure 16.10-5

Ferns
Ferns

are

Seedless

vascular plants

By

far the most diverse with more than 12,000 known

species

The

sperm of ferns, like those of mosses

Have

flagella

Must

swim through a film of water to fertilize eggs

Spore capsule
Fiddlehead
(young leaves
ready to unfurl)
Figure 16.11

Carboniferous Period
During

the Carboniferous period, from about

360 to 300 million years ago, ferns
Were

part of a great diversity of seedless plants

Formed

swampy forests over much of what is now

Eurasia and North America

As

they died, these forests formed coal.

Fossil

fuels

Include

coal, oil, and natural gas

Formed

from the remains of long-dead organisms

Figure 16.12

Gymnosperms
At

the end of the Carboniferous period,

the climate turned drier and colder,
favoring the evolution of gymnosperms,
which can
Complete

their life cycles on dry land

Withstand

long, harsh winters

The

descendants of early gymnosperms

include the conifers, or cone-bearing
plants.

Conifers
Cover

much of
northern Eurasia
and North America
Are usually
evergreens, which
retain their leaves
throughout the
year
Include the tallest,
largest, and oldest
organisms on Earth

Scale

Ovule-producing
cones; the scales
contain female
gametophytes
Pollen-producing
cones; they
produce male
gametophytes

Ponderosa pine
Figure 16.15

Angiosperms
Angiosperms
Dominate
Are

the modern landscape

represented by about 250,000 species

Supply

nearly all of our food and much of our

fiber for textiles

Their
A

success is largely due to

more efficient water transport

The

evolution of the flower

Flowers, Fruits, & the Angiosperm Life

Cycle
Flowers

help to attract pollinators who transfer pollen

from the sperm-bearing organs of one flower to the eggbearing organs of another.

flower is actually a short stem with four whorls of

modified leaves:
Sepals
Petals
Stamens

Carpels

Flowers

are an essential element of the angiosperm life

cycle & come in many forms

Petal

Stamen

Anther

Stigma
Style

Filament

Ovary

Ovule

Sepal
Figure 16.17

Carpel

Pansy

Bleeding heart

California poppy

Water lily

Figure 16.18

Wind
dispersal

Animal
transportation

Animal
ingestion

Laura Coronado

Bio 10

Chapter 16

Figure 16.20

Plant Diversity as a
Nonrenewable Resource
The

exploding human population is

Extinguishing

plant species at an unprecedented rate

Destroying

fifty million acres, an area the size of the

state of Washington, every year!

Humans

depend on plants for thousands of

products including
Food
Building

materials

Medicines

Figure 16.21

Table 16.1