Plant Characteristics Vocabulary
Jan 12, 2016
Plant Characteristics
Vocabulary
1. Alternation of Generations
• A haploid plant (gametophyte) and a diploid plant (sporophyte) alternate to complete a plant’s life cycle.
5. Diploid
• (2N). A cell with two copies of each chromosome. The sporophyte generation and spores are diploid.
14. Haploid
• (1N). A cell with only 1 copy of each chromosome. The gametophyte generation and gametes are haploid.
16. Meiosis
• Cell reproductive process that yields four genetically unique haploid cells.
18. Mitosis
• Cell reproductive process that yields two genetically identical copies of cells.
11. Gamete
• Egg or sperm. Haploid.
25. Spore
• A haploid cell that grows into the gametophyte.
8. Fertilization
• The fusing of a haploid egg and haploid sperm to produce a unique diploid zygote/embryo.
29. Zygote
• The single diploid cell resulting from the fertilization of an egg cell by a sperm cell.
6. Embryo
• The diploid result of fertilization of two gametes. Develops into the sporophyte.
12. Gametophyte
• The haploid generation in a plant’s life cycle that produces gametes.
10. Gametangium
• Tissue in gametophyte that produces gametes.
27. Sporophyte
• The diploid generation in a plant’s life cycle that produces haploid spores.
24. Sporangium
• Tissue in sporophyte that produces spore cells
3. Bryophyte
• Mosses, liverworts and hornworts. Gametophyte is dominant generation. Sporophyte often dependent on gametophyte. No vascular system, leaves or roots. Spread by spores. Relies on water for sperm to travel.
22. Rhizoid
• The root-like supportive structures of moss and other non-vascular plants.
7. Fern (and fern allies)
• Have vascular system, true roots, leaves (called fronds) and stems. Sporophyte and gametophyte generations live independently. Spread by spores. Relies on water for sperm to travel.
9. Frond
• Fern leaf that starts as a “fiddlehead.” Often have sporangia on back.
13. Gymnosperm
• Pines, cycad, ginkgo. Gametophyte generation is tiny and lives within the cone. Pollen travels by wind. Embryo contained in a seed.
21. Pollen
• Houses male gametophyte that produces sperm in seed plants.
23. Seed
• Gymnosperm and angiosperm structure for dispersal. Contains an embryo, stored food and a seed coat.
2. Angiosperm
• Flowering plant. Gametophyte tiny and lives in the flower of a sporophyte. Produce seeds surrounded by fruit. Often pollinated and dispersed by animals.
4. Carpel
• The female part of a flower (all the carpels together make a pistil). Contains an ovary with the gametophyte that produces egg cells.
19. Ovary
• The female reproductive organ of angiosperms where eggs develop. Becomes the fruit surrounding the seeds.
28. Stamen
• The male reproductive structure of angiosperms that produce pollen.
20. Photosynthesis
• The process by which plants convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen. Captures the sun’s energy making it available to all life.