Protist, Plant, Fungi vocab Flashcards
protist
Any of numerous eukaryotic organisms that are not fungi, plants, or animals and are chiefly unicellular or colonial
heterotroph
an organism deriving its nutritional requirements from complex organic substances.
eukaryote
an organism consisting of a cell or cells in which the genetic material is DNA in the form of chromosomes contained within a distinct nucleus. Eukaryotes include all living organisms other than the eubacteria and archaebacteria.
decomposer
an organism, especially a soil bacterium, fungus, or invertebrate, that decomposes organic material.
parasite
an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host’s expense.
host
host is an organism that harbors a parasitic, a mutual, or a commensal symbiont, typically providing nourishment and shelter.
fungi
plural form of fungus.
spore
a minute, typically one-celled, reproductive unit capable of giving rise to a new individual without sexual fusion, characteristic of lower plants, fungi, and protozoans.
lichen
a simple slow-growing plant that typically forms a low crustlike, leaflike, or branching growth on rocks, walls, and trees.
nonvascular plant
Nonvascular plants belong to the division Bryophyta, which includes mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. These plants have no vascular tissue, so the plants cannot retain water or deliver it to other parts of the plant body.
vascular plant
a plant that is characterized by the presence of conducting tissue.
gymnosperm
a plant that has seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit. Gymnosperms include the conifers, cycads, and ginkgo.
angiosperm
a plant that has flowers and produces seeds enclosed within a carpel. The angiosperms are a large group and include herbaceous plants, shrubs, grasses, and most trees.
photosynthesis
when plants make their food
cellular respiration
The chemical process that generates most of the energy in the cell, supplying molecules needed to make the metabolic reactions (see metabolism) of an organism run. Note: The main carrier of energy in metabolism is the molecule ATP.