Survey of the Plant Kingdom
Gymnosperms of Phyla Cycadophyta, Ginkgophyta, Coniferophyta, and Gnetophyta
Exercise 30

Françoise
Jessica
Lisa
Question 1
a). The presence of the flagellated sperm in cycads is surprising, because they do not have true flowers and their seeds are borne naked.. In other gymnosperms and angiosperms, the sperm is transported directly to the female ovule by a sperm tube, and does not have the flagellated sperm.
b). The possession of flagellated sperm has a primitive characteristic in the plant kingdom, because it has characteristics of early ages in the history of mankind.

Question 2
a). Dioecious means having the male and female reproductive organs are borne on separate individual plants.

Question 3
a). The needles are arranged vertically pointed up, outwards, and are stuck close to one another; attached in clusters.
b). In a bundle, there are two leaves in a bundle.
c). Pine leaves have needles, instead of flat leaves, like the broad-leaved trees. The needles help to survive winter’s hardship. For example, the needles cut evaporation so trees can save water, which is very useful during the winter season. Broad leaves trees, produce new leaves every spring. Photosynthesis occurs rapid in broad- leaved trees, unlike the pine leaves.
d). Pines are called evergreens because the tree does not shed its leaves during the fall, they stay green all year around.
e). Pine roots and fir are some plants that we’ve studied in the lab that are evergreen.
f). Function:
• Resin duct: secrets resin to protect pine needle plants from insects and other animals that try and eat it.
• Stoma: tiny openings which allow gas exchange necessary for cellular processes; photosynthesis.
• Epidermis: It protects against water loss, functions in gas exchange; oxygen and carbon dioxide, and helps keep its structure.
• Photosynthetic tissue: Absorbs air (oxygen and carbon dioxide) and water.
• Vascular tissue: Transports water, food and dissolved minerals throughout the plant.
g). The structural features of pine leaves adapt the tree for life in dry environments because the thick bark helps reduce water loss, almost as well as the thin needles. The wide base of roots help it absorb water from the soil.
Question 4
a). No, not all the cones are the same size; there are big small, medium, and big ones.
b). Some of the species grow male cones on the bottom of the pine trees, and some species grow female cones at the top of pine trees; above the male. Pines have pre-pollination barriers; spaced or timed released of pollen.
c). The wings allow the pollen grain to be blown to an ovule, where it germinates.

Question 5
a). Seeds are found in the cone on the upper surfaces of the cone scale.
b). Staminate cones are small. Newly pollinated ovulate cone, range in size from less than one inch to more than two inches in length. Newly pollinated ovulate cone is large in comparison to staminate cones.

Question 6
a). Spores are located underneath the leaves.
b). The male gametophytes of the pine are smaller than the female gametophytes, they are the pollen grains released by male cones to be dispersed to female cones.
c). The female gametophytes, are much larger than the male gametophytes, they remain within the ovules of the female cones of the pine. They depend on the surrounding sporophyte tissues for their nutrition.
d). An ovule is a plant structure that develops into a seed when fertilized.
e). An integument is a tough outer protective layer.
f). Other gymnosperms are similar to pine because gymnosperm examples include non-flowering evergreen trees such as pine; because they do not contain seeds. They both are haploid and their structures are needle-like.
g). They are different because it turns out that many trees that look like pine trees belong to more other gymnosperm families. And many plants that are gymnosperm families are not conifers at all.
h). The evolutionary advantage would be great from not needing free water for fertilization, because plants would not have to rely on water, they would be dependent. If a drought were to happen it would not be a problem for the plants.
Questions for Further Thought and Study
1). Pollination is when pollen or a male gamete reaches, through wind or animals, a female flower. Fertilization is when a male gamete (sperm) and a female gamete (egg) joins together and becomes an embryo.

2). Gymno- means bare or naked. So gymnosperm means a seed that is unprotected; does not have any covering. This term is an appropriate description because each part of the word, gymnosperm, is exactly what it means, translated from Greek to English.

3). Alternate of generation id different in ferns and pines because in ferns there are two generations that takes place. A diploid sporophyte and a haploid gametophyte), the gamete undergoes mitosis in the haploid phase. In pines the dominant generation is the sporophyte, the gametophyte is not really noticeable. The pollen grain relies on air for transportation, while the ovule is dependent on the sporophyte for nutrition.

4). For pines, the wind/ air would be the environmental agent for uniting sperm and egg. For bryophytes, water would be the environmental agent for uniting sperm and egg.

5). In mosses, the gametophyte and the sporophyte are the same size and have the same structures. In ferns, even thought the sporophyte is a microscopic phase, it is really important for ferns. Also they have distinctive individuals. In pines, they are need-like and cone-like trees that are sporophytes. The gametophyte stays in the pine where it was produced.

6). The evolutionary significance of pollen and seeds is that they are able to travel farther distance, by wind, than the parent plants. The pollen and seeds are able to go far, survive, and sexually recombine.

Survey of the Plant Kingdom
Angiosperms

Exercise 31

Question 1
I would describe the flower to be very luminous, has oval shapes and straight brown lines imprinted on the petals. The petals are bright pink at the top, and as it goes down the petal, the bright pink color becomes pink, light pink, and then faint pink. It has green sepals, and the stigma is greenish- yellowish.

Question 2
a). There is only one carpel apparent.
b). There is one ovule in each locule.

Question 3
a). Dehiscent anther is the final function of the anther, which releases the pollen grains. Predehiscent anther is when tepals open and stamens extend.
b). When the mature ovule becomes a seed, is the stage that is most mature.

Question 4
a). There