Hazel Collette Dwyer

J24110301 RHS 2/TMA 01

Assignment 01

1. State whether the following are gymnosperms (G) or

angiosperms (A):

a. Pinus sylvestris Scotts Pine G

b. Bellis perennis Common Daisy A
c. Daucus carota Wild Carrot A
d. Larix deciduas European Larch G
e. Quercus robur Pedunculate Oak A
f. Ilex aquifolium European Holly A

2. State three differences between monocotyledons and

dicotyledons and give a named example of each.

a. Monocotyledons flowering parts are usually in threes

or multiples of three and dicotyledons flowering
parts are usually in fours, fives or multiples of these.

b. Monocotyledons vascular bundles are scattered

throughout the stem and no cambium is present so

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secondary thickening does not occur. Dicotyledons

vascular bundles are in a ring around the stem and
cambium is present so secondary thickening does
occur.

c. Monocotyledons leaves are usually strap shaped and

have parallel veins. Dicotyledons leaves are not
usually strap shaped and have reticulate (branched)
veins.

Example of a monocotyledon:
Lilium bulbiferum Tiger Lily

Example of a dicotyledon:
Prunella vulgaris Self Heal

3. Define the following terms in a few sentences and give a

named example of each.

a. Annual

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A plant which germinates, grows, flowers, sets seed

and dies in one year or season. Hardy annuals
germinate when the soil is cool in spring or autumn,
they are important ecologically as they provide food
for animals and ground cover to stop soil erosion.
Some annuals are known as therophytes; they have a
short life cycle, sometimes only a few weeks and
then survive the winter as seeds. Many important
food crops are annuals, cereal grains for example.
Annuals may live longer if they are prevented from
setting seed by removing dead flowers as once seeds
are developed this signals the end of their life cycle.

Annuals usually produce many small seeds to ensure

successful continuation of the species.

An example of an annual:
Borago officinalis Borage

b. Herbaceous perennial

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A plant in which the aerial parts die down at the end

of the growing season but the roots stay alive but
dormant over the winter and produce a new plant
each spring for a number of years. Herbaceous
means that the plant does not have persistent woody
(lignified) stems. Perennial means a plant that grows
for a number of years, more than two. New growth
each season comes from living tissue underground
for example: corms, stolons, bulbs and rhizomes. As
production of seeds is not the only way to ensure
their

survival herbaceous perennials usually produce a few

larger seeds and do not tend to flower for the entire
growing season.

An example of an herbaceous perennial:

Mentha aquatica Water Mint

c. Semi-evergreen

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A perennial plant that sometimes acts as deciduous

plant and sometimes as an evergreen. It may keep
some or all of its leaves depending on factors such as
exposure to wind and temperature. If it is grown in a
warm climate, it will keep its leaves in winter but if it
is grown in a cold climate, or there is a particularly
cold winter it will lose its leaves.

Example of a semi-evergreen:
Ligustrum vulgare Privet Hedge

d. Ephemeral
A plant with a short life cycle, sometimes only 4 8
weeks.
There are several different kinds of ephemeral
Spring ephemerals are woodland plants which grow
and blossom in early spring to take advantage of the
extra light before the trees leaves grow.

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Desert ephemerals have a short life cycle to take

advantage of the short rainy season and then they
survive the rest of the year as seeds.
Weedy ephemerals are annuals with a short life
cycle; they can be very hard to get rid of as they can
grow several generations in one growing season and
produce many seeds.

Example of an ephemeral:
Dicentra cucullaria Dutchmans Breeches

4. Name four parts of a typical cell and give one function of

each.

a. Cell wall is rigid to give the plant support.

b. Chloroplasts where photosynthesis takes place.

c. Nucleus contains genetic information and

determines the cells function.

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d. Cell membrane allows certain substances in and out

of the cell.

5. Where would you find the following:

a. Apical meristem at the tip of the shoots and roots

b. Vascular bundle in the stems, roots and leaf veins

c. Lateral meristem in the stems and roots between

the primary xylem and phloem

d. Packing tissue throughout the plant

6. Describe each of the following in a few sentences and give

a named example of a plant in which each can be found.

a. Tuber A specialised type of enlarged stem used for

food storage. They develop from stolons underground

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and swell as they are filled with starch and

carbohydrates. When they are mature, the stolon
dies and a new plant develops from the tuber, with
roots and shoots growing from nodes that spiral
around it.

Example of a plant that grows tubers:

Solanum tuberosum Potato

b. Taproot A large tapered root found in many

dicotyledons. It is usually the primary (first) root and
secondary roots grow from it.

Example of a plant with a taproot:

Taraxacum Sect. Vulgaria Dandelion

c. Runner A specialised horizontal stem which grows

above ground with long internodes. Adventitious
buds
develop from nodes along the runner and grow as
separate plants.

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Example of a plant that grows runners:

Fragaria vesca Wild strawberry

d. Adventitious root Roots which grow from the stem,

leaf or adventitious buds, such as on the runners of
strawberry plants. These grow from bulbs, corms,
rhizomes and from cuttings.

Example of a plant with adventitious roots:

Carpobrutus edulis Hottentot fig

e. Bulb A large bud surrounded by fleshy leaves that

store food, with a small stem at the base that has
adventitious roots growing from it.

Example of a plant that grows from a bulb:

Allium triquetrum Three-cornered leek

7. Name three parts of a leaf and give one function of each

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a. Spongy mesophyll allows exchange of gasses

b. Stoma allows water vapour out of the leaf

c. Epidermis protects the leaf from losing or absorbing

too much water

8. Write a paragraph on each of the following:

a. Cambium
There are two lateral meristems present in
dicotyledons. The first, Vascular Cambium, is a
narrow
band of cells present between the primary xylem and
primary phloem of stems and roots, the cells
continue to divide and increase the plants girth. The
cells they

produce become secondary xylem towards the centre

and secondary phloem towards the outside. In woody
dicots, these secondary tissues become the wood. In

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spring it produces large vessels of secondary xylem

known as Spring Wood as the seasons progress the
vessels produced get smaller and are known as
Summer Wood. Little or no cells are produced in the
winter. This differentiation over the year is known as
an Annual Ring and is how we can tell the age of a
tree.

The second is Cork Cambium or Phellogen, which

develops in the cortex or from the epidermis, it
produces box like cork cells that become
impregnated with suberin, a waxy substance which
makes the cells waterproof. Cork replaces the
epidermis and is
produced annually in cylindrical layers that die after
they are fully formed. They form the outer bark of

woody plants and protect them from water loss and

injury.

b. Phloem

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Phloem consists of living cells known as sieve tubes

and smaller companion cells. Sieve tubes are
elongated cells, their end walls are perforated to
allow movement of fluids between them, they lose
their nuclei during development but have a close
connection with their companion cells. The phloem is
the transportation system for sap to travel around
the plant. The phloem picks up photosynthate (starch
and sugars produced by photosynthesis) from sugar
sources, such as the leaves and transports it to sugar
sinks such as fruits and growth areas where it is
needed. Sap can move in any
direction, to wherever it is needed within the plant or
to storage organs such as tubers.

c. Endodermis
A single layer of cells between the cortex and stele of
roots and some stems. The cells are tightly packed
with no intercellular space. The radial and transverse
walls are impregnated with lignin and suberin, this is
called the Casperian strip, making the usually porous

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cell walls waterproof and forcing water and dissolved

minerals to travel through the cytoplasm of the cells,
(symplastic pathway) rather than the cell walls
(apoplastic pathway). This gives the endodermal cells
control over the amount of water and which minerals
are absorbed. It also gives protection from bacterial
and fungal attack.

9. What do you understand by the following terms?

a. Calyx
The outermost whorl of a flower, usually 3-5 sepals
though sometimes they are joined together. Often
the calyx protects the flower while in its bud.

b. Stamen

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The male organ of a flower, there are usually several

in each flower, connected to the receptacle. They
consist of a long thin filament with a sac called an
anther at the end. Pollen is produced in the anther
and released through slits or pores.

c. Monoecious
Plants that have both male and female sexual organs
on the same plant.

From the Greek for one household. Some have male

and female flowers at the same time
simultaneously monoecious. Some have flowers of
one sex and then flowers of the other sex
consecutively monoecious, this is to avoid selfpollination.

d. Cross-pollination
Where pollen from a plant is carried to the carpel of
another plant therefore ensuring genetic variability
and long-term survival.

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e. Stomata
Pores in the epidermis of the plant that allow an
exchange of gasses and water vapour. They are
surrounded by guard cells that control the opening
and closing of the pore.

f. Etiolation
Etiolation occurs when flowering plants germinate
but find little or no light to help them grow. This lack
of light activates auxins that increase acidity in the
cell walls, which in turn activates expansin, an
enzyme that weakens the cell walls allowing them to
elongate quickly to find a light source. It is
characterised by long weak stems with few sparse
leaves with a pale yellow colour known as chlorosis,
which is caused by lack of chlorophyll.

g. Zygote

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A zygote is the initial cell produced by two haploid

cells fusing to become a diploid cell. The male
haploid cell, the pollen, is deposited onto the stigma
(pollination) it sends out a tube which travels down
the

pollen tube and into the ovule, the female haploid

cell, through the micropyle to fertilise the egg.

10. State two named examples of each:

a. Dry dehiscent fruit

Alliaria petiolata Garlic mustard
Papaver rhoeas Common poppy

b. Dry indehiscent fruit

Corylus avellana Hazel
Helianthus annus Sunflower

c. Fleshy true fruit

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Citrullus lanatus Watermelon

Sambruca nigra Elder

d. Fleshy false fruit

Malus domestica Apple
Fragaria ananassa Strawberry

11.
a. State three essentials for successful germination of a
seed:

1. Warmth
2. Moisture
3. Oxygen

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b. Describe the difference between epigeal and

hypogeal germination in a short paragraph giving a
named example of each:

In epigeal and hypogeal germination the radicle

grows into the soil and down towards gravity to
anchor the
plant and take in water and nutrients. The difference
between the types of germination occurs in the
cotyledons.
In epigeal germination, the cotyledons break through
the soil and become the first leaves, used to
photosynthesise energy for the plant until the first
true leaves have grown.
In hypogeal germination, the cotyledons stay below
ground and release their stored energy to the
plumule, which breaks the soil surface and forms its
first leaves.

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Example of a plant with epigeal germination:

Quercus cerris Turkey oak

Example of a plant with hypogeal germination:

Zea mays Maize

12. What do you understand by the term photosynthesis? In

200 words:
Carbon dioxide + water using light + chlorophyll = oxygen + glucose

What Photosynthesis is the process used by green plants

to harness light energy from the sun and store it for later
use.
Who Photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide from the air,
water absorbed by the roots and chlorophyll inside
chloroplasts to transform light energy from the sun into
biochemical energy in the bonds between the atoms of
sugar molecules. Oxygen is given off as a by-product into
the atmosphere.

Why Cells need energy to do their work and to

reproduce. Most of this energy involves energy storing
molecules called ATPs (adenosine triphosphate), there are
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millions of these inside every living cell, they only last a

few seconds and have to be produced constantly. Plants
make ATPs using light energy and without it production
stops and the cells
would soon die, so plants use photosynthesis to
accumulate energy for use when light is not available.
When Photosynthesis takes place during the day as long
as the temperature and light intensity are high enough
and there are adequate levels of the other necessary
factors; water and carbon dioxide. If any ingredient is
lacking the law of limiting factors comes into play.
Where Photosynthesis takes place inside chloroplasts
inside mesophyll cells of green plants. It begins in the
thylakoids and concludes in the stroma.

How Chlorophyll in the chloroplasts absorbs light from

the sun, it is combined with water and carbon dioxide,
through a series of enzyme controlled steps glucose is
produced, and oxygen is released as a by-product.

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13. State the difference between aerobic and anaerobic

respiration:
Aerobic Respiration
Glucose + Oxygen > Respiration = Carbon dioxide + Water +
energy

Anaerobic Respiration
Glucose > Anaerobic Respiration = Ethanol + Carbon dioxide +
Energy
or Lactic Acid

The difference between these two forms of respiration is

that anaerobic respiration does not use oxygen as a final
electron acceptor, instead molecules such as sulphur,
methane or hydrogen are used. Anaerobic respiration is
not as efficient as aerobic respiration, 2 ATPs produced per
glucose atom, compared to 38 ATPs per glucose atom for

aerobic, but this is because a lot of energy is still

contained in the waste products given off.

14. Define transpiration and explain how water and minerals

move through the plant.

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Transpiration is the evaporation of water through stomata

mainly found on the underside of leaves.
Water is absorbed from the soil into the root hairs by
osmosis (diffusion through a semi permeable membrane
from an area of higher concentration to an area of lower
concentration). Minerals that are in solution with the water
are also absorbed by osmosis, but some minerals are in
higher concentration within the plant so it expends energy
from ATP molecules to draw in minerals against the
concentration gradient (this is known as active transport).
The water and minerals in solution are drawn from cell to

cell by osmosis, from the root hair to the xylem and up the
stem to the leaves where it turns into water vapour in the
spongy mesophyll. When the mesophyll has reached
capacity, the guard cells swell and open to allow the water
vapour to be released through the stoma. Water is needed
to keep the cells turgid. The flow of water from the roots to
leaves is called the transpiration stream.

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15. What do you understand by the terms osmosis and

diffusion and what is the role of each within the plant?

a. Osmosis
Osmosis is diffusion through a semi permeable
membrane from an area of higher concentration to
an area of lower concentration.
Its role within the plant is to draw water into the root
hairs from the soil, which has a high water

concentration, then from cell to cell along the

concentration gradient, until it reaches the xylem and
then up through the plant to the leaves and out into
the atmosphere, which has a low concentration of
water.

b. Diffusion
Diffusion is the movement of atoms from an area of
high concentration to an area of lower concentration,
until the concentration is equal. When the

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concentration is equally distributed, it is said to be in

a state of equilibrium.
Its role within the plant is to draw the water vapour
gathered in the spongy mesophyll of leaves out into
the atmosphere. Since the concentration of water in
the atmosphere is lower than the concentration
inside the spongy mesophyll.

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