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Instructor Notes

Make sure to read CH 26. Be familiar with the following terms and concepts:

Androecium

Angiosperms

Antheridia

Anthophyta

Archegonia

Bryophyte

Carpel

Charophyte

Conifer

Coniferophyta

Cuticle

Cycadophyta

Dioecious

Double fertilization

Embryo sac

Fern

Fern fiddlehead

Filament

Fruit

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Gametophyte

Ginkgophyta

Gnetophyta

Gymnosperm

Gynoecium

Hornwort

Horsetail

Integument

Liverwort

Lycophyte

Micropyle

Monoecious

Nucellus

Ovary

Ovule

Pedicel

Petal

Phloem

Pollen tube

Pollination

Primoridum

Progymnosperms

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Pterophyta

Receptacle

Sepal

Sporangia

Sporocyst (spore mother cells)

Sporophyte

Stamen

Stigman

Stomata

Streptophyte

Style

Tracheophyte

Vascular tissue

Vessel

Whisk fern

Whorl

Xylem

Terrestrial plants, most likely evolved from a single green algal ancestor, which still remains a mystery
today. Plants are described as a group of organisms derived from multicellular algae as evidenced by
their chlorophyll b-containing chloroplasts. Characteristics of plants include: photosynthetic, embryo
protection, multicellular haploid and diploid phases (alternation of generations), and presence/absence
of conducting systems, cuticles, and stomata. Here is an illustration of the difference in the plant life
cycle, compared to the green alga ancestor:

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All plants exhibit a haplodiplontic life cycle having multicellular haploid and diploid stages. A haploid
gametophytic generation or “gamete plant” gives rise to haploid gametes that undergo syngamy to
produce a diploid sporophytic generation or “spore plant” which produce haploid spores. Meiosis takes
place in the sporangia, reproductive structure on the diploid sporophyte, and produce four haploid
spores that then divide by mitosis that develop into the multicellular, haploid gametophytes. The more
primitive plants exhibit prominent gametophytes and reduced, dependent sporophytes while the more
advanced plants are primarily sporophytic with reduced, dependent gametophytes. This figure
illustrates the gametophyte and sporophyte generation of various plants:

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Heterosporous plants produce two different kinds of spores, homosporous plants produce only one
kind of spore.

Three phyla represent approximately 24,700 species of nonvascular plants; the Bryophyta (mosses),
Hepaticophyta (liverworts), and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts). 

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And here is an illustration of the bryophytes:

Although diverse and not truly related, they share four primary characteristics: (1) photosynthetic,
independent gametophytes, (2) a nutritionally dependent sporophyte attached to the gametophyte, (3)
they require water for fertilization, and (4) they are small in size with the gametophyte more
conspicuous than the sporophyte. Mosses possess a central axis of rudimentary water-conducting
tissue found in leaflike structures and anchored to the substrate by rhizoids. Reproductive structures
consist of the female gametangia (archegonia) that produce a single egg and male gametangia
(antheridia) which produce numerous sperm.

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Sperm are released from an antheridium and swim using their flagella through rainwater to the
archegonia, uniting with a haploid egg forming a diploid zygote. The zygote divides by mitosis and
develops into the sporophyte, where mother cells undergo meiosis producing four haploid spores.
Liverworts and hornworts lack any form of vascular tissue. All three phyla are well suited for wide-
ranging terrestrial habitats, from arid and cold to warm and moist.

Vascular plants possess efficient conducting systems comprised of two elements. Phloem cells carry
carbohydrates away or down from leaves where they are manufactured. Xylem elements transport
water and minerals up from the roots.

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The less-advanced, seedless vascular plants are similar to mosses; they form antheridia and
archegonia, produce free-swimming sperm and require water for fertilization. They include closely
related Pterophyta (ferns, horsetails, whisk ferns) distantly related Lycophyta (club mosses). Here is a
photo of a modern-day lycophyte (Isoetes sp.):

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Swamps that formed widely about 320 million years ago were dominated by tree-sized lycophytes. The
giant lycophytes relied on thick bark for mechanical support, so these tree-sized lycophytes were
markedly different from the trees familiar to us today. The giant lycophytes persisted for millions of
years in swampy environments alongside early seed plants; they were not outcompeted. Their demise
happened when changing climates dried out swamps. When the trees died and fell over into the
swamp, their bodies decomposed slowly and over time, this dead organic matter converted to the
carbon-rich material we call coal. Thus, a major source of energy used today by humans is derived
originally from photosynthesis carried out by giant lycophyte trees.

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In Pterophyta and Lycophyta there is a greater development of the sporophyte stage, now
photosynthetic and nutritionally independent of the gametophyte. The ferns with about 365 genera
are the most abundant seedless vascular plants and exhibit diverse morphologies. Most possess
horizontal, underground stems called rhizomes and have leafy fronds that develop from fiddleheads.
Nearly all are homosporous with distinctive sori containing sporangia that contain haploid spores. The
horsetails comprise only one genus, homosporous with motile sperm, either photosynthetic or
nonphotosynthetic. Whisk ferns comprise two genera, are homosporous, have motile sperm, no leaves,
and little differentiation between roots and shoots.

Today, there are over 300,000 species of seed plants. Seed-producing, vascular plants are
heterosporous, lack antheridia, possess non-flagellated sperm, and only a few produce archegonia. All
seed plants are heterosporous. Their microgametophytes (male gametes) are called pollen grains and
are released directly into the environment. Their megagametophytes (female gametes) are held within
the ovules and are pollinated when contacted by pollen grains. Pollination and fertilization may be
separated by long periods of time.

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Five phyla make up the seed-producing, vascular plants including the: angiosperms that produce seeds
enclosed within fruits including the phyla of Anthophyta (flowering plants) and gymnosperms which
are plants that produce naked seeds including phylums: Coniferophyta (pines, spruces, firs, yews,
redwoods and other conifers), Cycadophyta (cycads), Gnetophyta (gnetophytes), and Ginkgophyta
(ginkos). All ginko species are in one genus, have flagellated and motile sperm, and are deciduous trees.
Gnetophyta species are in one of three genera, have nonmotile sperm, and are the only gymnosperms
with vessels. This is what the leaves and fruit of a gingko look like:

Cycadophyta phyla include 10 genera, seeds are in cones, sperm are flagellated and motile and include
palmlike plants. Note that they are not palms. Here is a photo of a rare cycad species in South Africa:

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Coniferophyta comprises about 50 genera of conifers, have nonmotile sperm, needlelike or scalelike
leaves, and seeds found in cones.

The Angiosperms phyla Anthophyta contain over 250,000 known species of flowering plants. This
figure illustrates the phylogeny of the group:

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Angiosperms are divided into two monophyletic classes: the eudicots or “dicots,” which are made up of
about 175,000 species and are the more primitive of the two, and the second lineage that gave rise to
the monocots and magnolias with about 65,000 species. Plants in these two lineages, monocots and
dicots, differ according to the number of cotyledons, leaf venation, presence of lateral meristems, and
number of flower parts.

Included in the dicots are the majority of fruit and nut trees, shrubs, snapdragons, mints, and a majority
of all vegetables and fruits. Many monocot plants are mostly annual plants and include the grasses,
grains, lilies, cattails, palms, agaves, yuccas, pondweeds, orchids, and irises. All flowers, modified stems
with modified leaves, share certain features. The flower originates as a bud at the end of a pedicel
(stalk), which expands to form the receptacle and other flower parts including an outermost whorl of
sepals (green and leaflike), followed by a whorl of colored petals attracting pollinators. The third whorl
is comprised of the androecium or the stamens, made up of the anther and filament. At the center of
this whirl is the gynoecium, the female structures, the carpels. The carpel contains the stigma, style,
and the fruit-developing ovary, containing one to hundreds of ovules.

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Angiosperms undergo double fertilization where one sperm cell fuses with the egg to produce the
zygote while a second sperm fuses with two polar nuclei to form the nutritive triploid endosperm. The
figure below illustrates double fertilization:

Angiosperm evolutionary innovations include flowers to attract pollinators, fruits that protect the
embryo and aid in its dispersal, and double fertilization providing for nutritive tissue for the growing
embryo.

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