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General Education
Lesson 5: Botany
Botany is the science that studies plants. Vascular plants can be further divided based on whether they reproduce with seeds.
Seedless Vascular Plants
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| Image from An Overview of Biodiversity |
Vascular plants that do not produce seeds. They reproduce through spores.
Characteristics:
- Have vascular tissue (xylem and phloem)
- Reproduce through spores, not seeds
- Include ferns and horsetails
Example:
- Ferns - have fronds (leaf-like structures) and reproduce through spores on the underside of fronds
Seedless vascular plants have tubes for transporting water but reproduce with spores instead of seeds. Ferns are the most common seedless vascular plant.
Seed Vascular Plants
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| Image from Science Notes |
Seed vascular plants reproduce by making seeds and can be divided into two groups: angiosperms and gymnosperms.
Angiosperms (Flowering Plants)
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| Image from Science Notes |
Flowering plants that produce seeds enclosed in fruit.
Characteristics:
- Have flowers for reproduction
- Produce seeds enclosed in protective fruit
- Most abundant and widely distributed plants on Earth
- Produce beautiful flowers to attract pollinators
- The fruit protects the seeds
- Flowers attract animals to help with pollination
- Very adaptable to different environments
Angiosperms are flowering plants that produce fruit to protect seeds. They are the most common plants on Earth.
Examples:
- Apple trees, roses, tulips, corn, wheat, beans
Gymnosperms (Cone-Bearing Plants)
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| Image from Science Notes |
Plants that produce seeds but do not enclose them in fruit.
Characteristics:
- Produce seeds in cones
- Seeds are "naked" (not enclosed in fruit)
- Mostly evergreen (keep leaves year-round)
- Leaves are often needle-like or scale-like
- Cones protect developing seeds
- Can survive in cold, dry environments
- Have been around longer than flowering plants
Gymnosperms produce seeds in cones. The seeds are not enclosed in fruit, so they are "naked." Pine trees and spruce trees are gymnosperms.
Examples:
- Conifers (pine trees, spruce trees, fir trees)
- Ginkgo trees
- Cycads
Angiosperms Reproduction
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| Image from Lumen Learning |
Angiosperms reproduce sexually using flowers. The flower is the reproductive organ that contains both male and female parts.
- The Flower - is the reproductive organ of a flowering plant. It contains male and female parts needed for sexual reproduction.
- Pollination - is the transfer of pollen grains from the male part (anther) to the female part (stigma) of a flower.
Two types of pollination:
1. Cross Pollination - happens when pollen from one plant is transferred to a flower on a different plant. This usually happens with help from pollinators like bees, butterflies, wind, or water.
2. Self-Pollination - happens when pollen from the male part of a flower fertilizes the female part of the same flower or another flower on the same plant. This happens without help from pollinators.
Parts of a Flower
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| Image from TN Nursery |
Stamen is the male reproductive part of the flower. It consists of:
- Anther - The top part that produces and holds pollen grains.
- Filament - The stalk that supports the anther.
- Pollen grains - The male gametes (sex cells) that contain genetic material.
Carpel (Also called Pistil) - is the female reproductive part of the flower. It consists of:
- Stigma - The top, sticky part that receives pollen during pollination.
- Style - The tube that connects the stigma to the ovary.
- Ovary - The base part that contains ovules. After fertilization, the ovary develops into the fruit.
- Ovule - The structure inside the ovary that develops into a seed after fertilization.
The carpel is the female part. Pollen lands on the stigma, travels down the style, and fertilizes the ovule in the ovary. The ovary becomes the fruit, and the ovule becomes the seed.
Other Flower Parts:
Sepals - Collectively called the calyx. Sepals are leaf-like structures that protect the flower bud before it opens. They are usually green.
Petals - Collectively called the corolla. Petals are often colorful and fragrant. They attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to the flower.
Sepals protect the unopened flower bud. Petals are colorful and attract animals to help pollinate the flower.
Asexual Reproduction
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| Image from Lumen Learning |
Asexual reproduction (also called vegetative reproduction) produces new plants from a single parent plant without seeds. All offspring are genetically identical to the parent.
Types of Asexual Reproduction in Plants:
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| Image from PMG Biology |
1. Runners (Stolons) - horizontal stems that grow along the ground. New roots and shoots develop at the nodes (joints) on the runner. A new plant grows at each node.
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| Image from Eschooltoday |
Examples:
- Strawberry plants - runners produce new strawberry plants
- Bermuda grass - spreads through runners
- Bamboo grass
Runners are stems that grow horizontally on the ground. New plants grow from them.
2. Tubers - underground stems that store food for the plant.
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| Image from Braintor Library |
Characteristics:
- Grow underground
- Store starch and other food
- Have "eyes" which are stem nodes
- Each eye contains a cluster of buds that can grow into a new plant
Examples:
- Potato - the eyes on a potato can each grow into a new plant
Tubers are underground stems that store food. Potatoes are tubers, and their eyes can grow into new plants.
3. Rhizomes - horizontal underground stems that spread from plant to plant.
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| Image from Science Learning Hub |
Characteristics:
- Grow underground
- Spread horizontally
- Can spread to cover a large area
- Nodes on rhizomes can produce new plants
Examples:
- Ginger - grows as rhizomes underground
Rhizomes are underground stems that spread horizontally and produce new plants.
4. Bulbs - shortened, compressed underground stems surrounded by leaves.
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| Image from Eschooltoday |
Characteristics:
- Underground structures
- Store food in leaf bases
- Can split into smaller bulbs to form new plants
Examples:
- Onion
- Garlic
Bulbs are underground food storage structures. Onions and garlic are bulbs.
5. Corms - underground stems similar to bulbs but more solid.
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| Image from Eschooltoday |
Characteristics:
- Underground structures
- Solid, compact structure (unlike bulbs which are layered)
- Store food
- Can produce new plants
Examples:
- Taro (Colocasia) - a plant with an edible underground corm
Corms are underground stems that look like bulbs but are more solid inside.
6. Underground Roots - some plants store food in underground root structures instead of stems.
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| Image from The Arid Land Homesteader League |
Characteristics:
- Actual roots (not stems) that store food
- Can be harvested and eaten
- Can produce new plants
Examples:
- Carrots - orange roots that store food
- Sweet potatoes (Camote) - purple or orange roots
- Cassava - starchy root vegetable
Some plants store food in their roots underground. Carrots and sweet potatoes are underground roots used for food storage.
Botany Quiz: click here
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