Terminology: The Parts of a Plant

Matthew BoggsAaron SeiglerVictor Makali

Gordon

What’s the Difference between and seed and a fruit?

A seed is a fertilized, ripened ovule of a gymnosperm or angiosperm.

A fruit is a ripened and mature ovary containing seeds.

Vocabulary Ovule- In plants, a structure that

contains a gametophyte and, within the gametophyte, an egg; when it matures, an ovule becomes a seed.

Ovary- Any female organ, that produces an egg.

Angiosperm- Plants with ovules, enclosed in an ovary.

Gymnosperm- a vascular plant whose seeds are not in an ovary.

What are the components of a seed?

1) Seed Coat2) Cotyledon- an embryonic organ that

stores and digests reserve materials.

3) Shoot Apex4) Root Apex5) Endosperm- contains stored

nutrients for the developing embryo.

What are the components of a fruit?

1) Exocarp2) Mesocarp3) Endocarp The “Pericarp” is the collective term

for the above components of a fruit.

Quick Facts Not all plants produce seeds.

• Gametophyte: the alternation of generations, the multicellular haploid phase that produces the gametes.

• Sporophytes: the alternation of generations, the diploid phase that produces the spores.

• The purpose of a fruit is to provide protection and nutrients as well as help with dispersal.

When does the “above ground” part of the plant start to grow?

The “above ground” part of the plant, known as the shoot system starts to grow once the root system as established secure anchoring.

What are the components of the root system?

1) Stems2) Leaves3) Nodes and Internodes

- a node is the point on a stem where a leaf is or was attached.- an internode is the region between two nodes.

How does a plant know which way is up?

A plant will grow towards or with a stimulus, i.e. a plant will grow toward a source of light.

How Does the function of the upper parts of the plant depend upon the root

The upper parts of the plant depend on the roots to provide water and dissolved minerals collected from the soil.

In What Way Does the Root Depend on the Upper Part of the Plant?

The root depends on the upper part of the plant to produce sugars and other organic substances through photosynthesis.

How Do These Regions Coordinate and Communicate their Activities?

The Shoot System and Root System are connected through two sets of vascular tissues(Xylem and Phloem) that transport resources back and forth.

Xylem- the vascular tissue that conducts/transports water and dissolved minerals in plants.

Phloem- the vascular tissue that conducts/transports dissolved sugars and other organic compounds in plants.

Sources Sadava, David, David Hillis, William K.

Purves, H. C. Heller, and Gordon H. Orians. Life : The Science of Biology. 8th ed. Boston: W. H. Freeman & Company, 2006.

“Plants Know the Way to Grow.”Fast Plants. 1995. http://www.fastplants.org/pdf/activities/know_the_way.pdf