Seedless Seduction

Question 1

When did seedless vascular plants dominate?

Answer 1

• 350 mya

Question 2

What are fiddle head ferns?

Answer 2

• one of the few edible parts of the plant

Question 3

what is lygodium?

Answer 3

• a world wide problem pest: fast growth and kills trees

Question 4

What is the water fern azalea a mutualist with?

Answer 4

• with cyanobacteria
  = environmentally friendly fertilizer

Question 5

what are the two apical meristems?

Answer 5

Root and shoot

Question 6

Describe the root system thing

Question 7

What are treachery elements?

Answer 7

• function to transport water from root to shoot
• tracheids lack perforation plates in end walls (present in all vascular plants)
• vessel elements: shorter, wider, more advanced - can carry more water than tracheids

only angiosperms have vessel elements

Question 8

What causes differentiation in a vessel element?

Answer 8

• everything undergoes programmed cell death except the cell wall

Question 9

How do the sporophytes of seedless vascular differ from bryophytes:?

Answer 9

• sporophyte independent at maturity, gametophyte independent (but short lived)
• saprophyte much larger

Question 10

What is heterospory an important precursor for?

Answer 10

• for seeds and pollen production

Question 11

What are the seedless vascular phyla that dominated during the Devonian period?

Answer 11

• Devonian period : 350 mya
• trimerophyta, rhyniophyta, zosterophyllophyta
• early photosynthetic plants had branched with photosynthetic ability

Question 12

describe the extinct lycophyte trees

Answer 12

• modern lycophtyes are small herbaceous
• the ones that dominated the Devonian period were large: contributed to carboniferous coal swamps from decomposing in standing water

Question 13

what is a ligule?

Answer 13

• a small leaf for the protection of the sporangium

Question 14

how many megaspores are produced in heterosporous plants?

Answer 14

megasporocyte gives rise to 4 megaspores, only one survives

Question 15

What are the two orders of psilotopsida?

Answer 15

• ophioglossales and psilotales
  psiltoales: consist of tmesipteris and psilotum (whisk fern)
• tmesipteris grows as an epiphytes
• psilotum lacks trie roots, has nations instead of leaves, and is homosporous

Question 16

what are fiddle heads?

Answer 16

• the young fern megaphylls that arise from underground stems: rhizomes
• one of the few edible parts of fern (most leaves and stems are poisonous)

Question 17

how do polypodiopsida prevent self fertilization if they’re homosporous?

Answer 17

• mature at separate times
• some species have antheridia and archegonia on different plants

Question 18

What is antheridiogen?

Answer 18

• hormone released for surrounding gametophyte to produce more antheridia (promotes cross pollination)

Question 19

what occurs to sporopollenin when conditions are right?

Answer 19

it degrades so reproduction can occur

Question 20

Describe equisetopsida

Answer 20

• represented by equistem
• may be oldest surviving genus of all plants on earth
• commonly known as horsetails

Question 21

What is unique about water ferns of polypodiopsida?

Answer 21

• water ferns are heterosporous AND they have trichomes which absorb oil into trichomes body

Question 22

Describe the strobilus of equisetopsida

Answer 22

• covered in elaters which unwind as strobilus matures, dispersing spores
• spores released become bisexual gametophyte (which produce spores ultimately becoming sporophyte)