3.

2 The Plants
• Able to survive in a variety of
climates
• Autotrophic
• Important as a food source for
heterotrophic organisms
(plants are the basis of every
food chain)
• Provide shelter for animals
• Used by humans for medicines,
clothing, paper products, wood,
etc.
• Provide the main source of
oxygen on the earth!
 Classification & Phylogeny
• Domain: Eukaryotes; Kingdom: Plants
• Plants are believed to have evolved from green
algae (protists) between 425-490 million years
ago. Evidence for this relationship are that plants
and green algae both:
– contain chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b (pigment used
in photosynthesis)
– During mitosis, both begin cytokinesis by building a
cell plate
– Excess food is stored as starch in both
– Cell walls contain cellulose for both
 Characteristics
• Eukaryotic
• Perform photosynthesis
• Cell walls containing
cellulose
• Sessile (unable to move
from place to place)
 Alternation of Generations
• Life cycle consists of “alternation of generations”
• Plants cycle through dipoloid and haploid states
(generations)
– Recall: Diploid (2n) means the cell contains two
copies of each chromosome; haploid (n) means that
the cell only has half the usual set of chromosomes.
• Plants in the diploid generation are called
sporophytes and they produce spores
• Plants in the haploid generation are called
gametophytes and they produce gametes
Plant Life Cycle
• Use pg. 88 of your text to explain how plants
cycle between diploid and haploid
generations
 Adaptations to Life on Land
• The distant ancestors of plants were aquatic
(lived in water)
• When early plants began to shift to terrestrial
(land) organisms, they needed protection from
drying out and systems to transport water and
nutrients
• Adaptations that developed in plants include:
– Development of a waxy cuticle to prevent water loss
– Development of stomata (openings in plant that
allows gas exchange)
– In some plants: Development of vascular tissue,
seeds and flowers
 4 Major Plant Classifications
• Bryophyte: small, seedless plant that lacks vascular
tissue
– Ex. Mosses, liverworts, hornworts
• Lycophytes and Pterophytes: seedless, vascular
plants
– Lycophytes: Ex. Club Mosses
– Pterophytes: Ex. Ferns
• Gymnosperm: a vascular plant that produces seeds
– Ex. Conifers
• Angiosperm: a vascular plant that produces flowers
– Flowering plants
– Dandelion
Kingdom Plantae
1) Non-Vascular Plants
(“Bryophytes”)
• Classification of “bryophytes” is a traditional term that
refers to three divisions (mosses, hornworts and
liverworts).

• No vascular tissue, therefore depend on osmosis and

diffusion to transport nutrients.

• Usually grow in dense mats of low tangled vegetation

that can hold water like a sponge, allowing them to
survive cold or dry periods.

• Have no roots

• Sexual reproduction using spores

(not seeds)
Non-vascular Plants
Mosses (Bryophyta)
• Very successful and widespread, thrive in such diverse
habitats as bogs, tundra, on bare exposed rocks, and in deep
shade.
• Twice as many species of mosses as there are mammals!

Liverworts (Marchantiophyta)
• Grow flat, low to the ground and are rarely more than 30 cells
thick.
• 80% are leafy and live in tropical forests and in humid
climates.
• Many small chloroplasts per cell.

Hornworts (Anthocerotophyta)
• Broad, flat and are commonly blue-green in colour.
• One large chloroplast per cell
 2) Seedless Vascular Plants
“Lycophytes” and “Pterophytes”
(a.k.a. Ferns and their relatives)
• came about 300 million years ago
• developed the vascular tissue that allowed them
to grow tall and access more sunlight.
• Vascular tissue consists of xylem and phloem
(transport water and nutrients, respectively)
• Vascular tissue contains
lignin, a structural
compound.
• Sexual reproduction using
spores (sperm and egg)
 2) Seedless Vascular Plants
“Lycophytes” and “Pterophytes”
• Simple roots and stems. Stems are in the form
of rhizomes (underground horizontal stems).
• Fronds are the large green leaves that grow on
ferns.
 3) Gymnosperms (Conifers)
• disperse by means of seeds

• reproduce sexually

• have seeds that are exposed on the surface of cone scales

• gymnosperm means ‘naked seed’

• includes cone-bearing trees: pines, firs, spruce, yew, cedars,

redwood and many other large trees.
4) Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)
• Plants that protect their seeds within the body of a fruit
are called angiosperms or flowering plants.
• Appeared on earth more than 150 mya.
• Include vines, grasses, shrubs, trees and water plants.
• Grow everywhere on land from tundra to tropics.
• Divided into monocots (1 cotyledon) and dicots (2
cotyledons). Cotyledon is a structure in the seed that
contains nutrients used by the growing embryo.
• Sexual reproduction by pollination. Use wind, water,
animals, bats, birds and insects as pollen carriers.
Monocots vs. Dicots