Unit 5

Plants
 INDEX

1. The plant kingdom

2. Plant nutrition

3. Plant sensitivity

4. Classification of plants

5. Non-flowering plants

6. Flowering plants
The plant kingdom
Main characteristics of plants

Eukaryotic, multicellular and

autotrophic organisms with
differentiated tissues.

The main producers in land

ecosystems, providing organic
matter and oxygen for many
other living beings.
The plant kingdom

Plant cells have a rigid

cell wall, a big vacuole
and chloroplasts that
perform photosynthesis.

Chloroplasts contain a
green piment called
chlorophyll, a molecule
that can absorb sunlight.

Chloroplast
Plant nutrition

Nutrition: obtain energy and nutrients necessary to live.

Plants are autotrophs:

absorb energy from the
environment (sunlight) and
produce organic matter
(carbohydrates, proteins…)
from inorganic matter (water,
mineral salts and carbon
dioxide).

This process is known as

photosynthesis.
Plant nutrition

All plants perform photosynthesis and respiration.

Plant sensitivity
Plants cannot move, but they can detect some stimuli and develop a response
according to those stimuli.

Plants can develop two types of responses: tropisms and nastic movements.

Tropisms Nastic movements

Slow and permanent. Fast and non-permanent.
The movement can be positive (towards Non-directional: do not depend on the
the stimulus), or negative (away from the direction of the stimulus.
stimulus).
Types of tropisms: phototropism, Types of nastic movements: photonasty and
hydrotropism and gravitropism thigmonasty
Plant sensitivity

Some carnivore plants catch their prey using thigmonastic movements.

Venus Flytrap catches a wasp - YouTube Drosera aliciae fly catch - YouTube
Plant sensitivity
Plant sensitivity – activities

1. In your notebook, make a diagram about tropisms and nastic

movements, including their differences and all the types that exist.
Plant sensitivity
Plant sensitivity – activities

2. Say whether these sentences are true of false. Correct the false ones.

a) Tropisms and nastic movements are activated by a stimulus, such as light, water or
gravity.

b) Tropisms do not involve movement towards or away from the stimulus which causes
them.

c) If the plant moves towards the stimuli, the movement is considered ‘negative’.

d) Nastic movements are fast, permanent and non-directional movements of plants.

e) Plants usually have positive phototropism: they grow towards the light. .

f) Photonasty is a type of nastic movement triggered by the presence of water.

g) Carnivore plants use a type of tropism triggered by the presence of touch.

Plant sensitivity
Plant sensitivity – activities

3. Observe the following pictures. Name the tropisms or nastic movements

shown in the pictures and explain how did these plant get to those
positions.
3.A 3.B
 Classification of plants

Plant kingdom

Non-flowering plants Flowering plants

Do not have flowers or seeds, reproduce by spores. Have flowers and seeds.
Have vascular tissues, roots, stem and leaves

Bryophytes Pteridophytes Gymnosperms Angiosperms

Do not have vascular tissues Have vascular tissues Simple flowers called cones Flowers with petals
Do not have roots, stem or Have roots, stem and leaves Do not have fruits Their seed grow inside fruits
leaves
Non-flowering plants
Bryophytes
Mosses and others.

Small and primitive plants.

The only non-vascular plants: do

not have xylem or phloem.

Water and minerals are absorbed

by the whole body of the plant
through the cuticle.

Found in moist environments,

growing on the surface of rocks,
trees or on the soil.
Non-flowering plants
Parts of a moss
Bryophytes do not have true roots, stem or leaves.

Mosses have rhizoids (do not absorb water), caulidia (without xylem or
phloem) and phyllidia (without veins).

Phyllidia

Caulidia
Rhizoids
Non-flowering plants
Importance of mosses

Mosses are essential in ecosystems:

➢ Source of food
➢ Provide shelter
➢ Prevent soil erosion
Non-flowering plants
Reproduction in mosses
1. Reproductive cells called spores are formed in capsules.

2. When the spores are ready, the capsules open, and the spores are
dispersed by the wind.

3. The spores germinate forming new mosses.

Capsule
Spores

Moss
Non-flowering plants
Pteridophytes
Ferns and others.

Vascular plants (have xylem

and phloem) that reproduce
through spores.

Have true roots, stems and

leaves.

Found in shady forests,

tropical rainforests and
riverbanks.
Non-flowering plants
Pteridophytes
Most ferns are short, but some tropical species can grow and become trees.
Non-flowering plants

Parts of a fern Sori

Ferns have:
➢ Roots: fix the plant in the
ground and absorb water Fronds
(leaves)
and mineral salts. Sporangia
➢ Rhizome: thick underground
and horizontal stem. Spores

➢ Fronds: fern’s leaves, usually

big.

Rhizome (stem) Roots

Non-flowering plants

Ferns as bioindicators

Ferns can be used to detect environmental disturbances like

water pollution.
Non-flowering plants

Reproduction in ferns

Sori 2. Sporangia release spores, that

are transported by the wind.

Sporangium
Fern
Spores

1. Sori develop on the underside

of fronds. Each sorus contain
many sporangia.
3. Spores land and germinate
producing new ferns.
Non-flowering plants

Activity – COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Complete the following table about the similarities and differences

between mosses and ferns.

MOSSES FERNS
Common
features

Differences
Flowering plants
Flowering plants have the following organs:

➢ Vegetative organs (found in all vascular

plants; essential for nutrition)

- Roots
- Stem
- Leaves (leaf in singular)

➢ Reproductive organs:
- Flowers
- Fruits (only in angiosperms)
- Seeds
Flowering plants

Leaves
Upper surface
Perform photosynthesis. Lower
surface
Green (contain chlorophyll)
Petiole
Usually wide and flat to absorb more Blade
sunlight. Veins
Stoma
Stomata (stoma in singular): small
holes used to absorb and release
carbon dioxide and oxygen.

Transpiration: leaves release water

vapour, making water rise from the
roots.
Flowering plants

Stem
Keeps the plant upright.
Xylem Branch
Supports the leaves.
Node

Can be woody (rigid) or

Phloem
herbaceous (flexible). Bud

Contain the vascular tissues:

➢ Xylem

➢ Phloem
 Flowering plants

➢ Xylem: transports xylem

sap (water and mineral
salts absorbed from the
ground) from the roots
to the leaves.

➢ Phloem: carries phloem

sap (water, mineral salts
and sugars) that is
produced in the leaves
thanks to photosynthesis
and transports it to the
rest of the plant.

Xylem and phloem by Peter Weatherall - YouTube

Flowering plants

Roots
Main root

Fix the plant to the

Root hairs
ground.

Absorb water and Secondary

mineral salts. root

Root hairs increase the

area of absorption.
Flowering plants
Flowers

Gymnosperms Angiosperms
Cones Flowers with petals
Pistil

Male cones Female cones Stamen

Sepal Petal Corolla
Flowering plants
Corolla
Angiosperm flower Petal
Formed by the petals, coloured
leaves that attract pollinators

Anther

Pollen

Ovary Filament

Ovule

Stamen
Male organ
Pistil Sepal
The anther
Female organ produces
The ovary contains the pollen grains
ovules that produce Calyx (male
female gametes Formed by the sepals, green leaves that gametes)
protect the reproductive organs
Flowering plants
Hermaphroditic vs unisexual flowers

Hermaphroditic flowers Unisexual flowers

Hermaphroditic flowers Male flowers Female flowers

Have stamens and pistils Have stamens but Have pistils but do
do not have pistils not have stamens
Flowering plants
Fruits (only in angiosperms)
After pollination, the ovaries of the flowers develop into fruits that contain the
seeds.

There are many different types of fruits.

Flowering plants
Fruits (only in angiosperms)
Fruits help disperse the seeds far away from the plant that produces them:

➢ Most fruits are sweet and

colourful, so animals eat them
and disperse the seeds with
their faeces.

➢ Some have structures to stick to

the bodies of animals.

➢ Some have structures like wings

or hairs to be transported by the
wind.
Flowering plants

Activities
In your notebooks, do activities 22, 23 and 24 from your book.
Flowering plants
Gymnosperms
Pine trees, junipers, cedars…

Vascular plants that produce

simple unisexual flowers
without sepals or petals called
cones.

Produce seeds that do not

grow inside a fruit.

Gymnosperms can be trees or

bushes: always have woody
stems.

Especially abundant
in cold environments, like
mountains and high latitudes.
Flowering plants

Gymnosperms

Leaves shaped like scales or

needles or scales. This is an
adaptation to cold environments
(they are less likely to freeze, and
snow cannot accumulate on top
of them).

Most gymnosperms are

evergreen: they do not lose their
leaves in winter.
Flowering plants
Reproduction in gymnosperms
1. Male cones release pollen.
The wind carries it to 3. The female cone falls to
female cones. the ground and releases
Male cones the seeds.
Female cones

Seed

2. Fertilisation
4. Seeds
occurs. The female
germinate and
cone grows as seeds Fertilised produce new
develop inside it. female cone plants.
Flowering plants
Angiosperms
Most plants on Earth are
angiosperms.

Vascular plants that produce flowers

with petals. Mostly hermaphroditic.

Angiosperms can be grasses with

herbaceous stems, or bushes or
trees with woody stems.

Found in almost all environments,

including deserts, freshwater and
even in the oceans.
Flowering plants
Angiosperms
Leaves with many different shapes and
adaptations.

Can be deciduous (the leaves fall in

winter) or evergreen.
Flowering plants
Reproduction in angiosperms 1. Pollination: pollen from one flower ends up in
another flower. Carried out by pollinators:
animals attracted by the colourful petals and the
sweet nectar); or by the wind.

2. Fertilisation:
Pollen grain
grow a pollen
tube through
which the male
gametes reach
the female
gametes inside
the ovule.
5. Germination:
the seeds grow
into new plants.

4. Fruit formation: 3. Seed formation: the seed forms as

the ovary grows and the plant embryo gets surrounded by
turns into a fruit. protective and nourishment tissues.
Flowering plants
Classification of angiosperms

Monocotyledons Dicotyledons
➢ Embryos with one cotyledon
➢ Embryos with two cotyledons.
(embryonic leaf).
➢ Leaves with branched veins.
➢ Leaves with parallel veins.
➢ Flower parts in multiples of four or
➢ Flower parts in multiples of three.
five.
➢ Orchids, grasses, palm trees…
➢ Most trees, daises, legumes, roses…
Flowering plants

Activities

In your notebooks, do exercises 25, 26 and 27 from your book.