Seed Plants: Gymnosperms Overview

Seed plants that produce "naked" seeds not enclosed in fruit.

Plants that produce seeds, which contain an embryo and food supply for the developing plant.

Producing two types of spores: megaspores (female) and microspores (male).

Spores that develop into female gametophytes, which produce eggs.

Spores that develop into male gametophytes, which produce sperm.

The haploid generation in a plant life cycle that produces gametes (sperm and egg).

The diploid generation in a plant life cycle producing spores.

The life cycle of plants where the sporophyte (diploid) and gametophyte (haploid) generations alternate.

The male gametophyte of a gymnosperm, containing generative and tube cells.

Fusion of sperm and egg nuclei.

Structures that contain the megasporocyte and develop into seeds.

Takes up to two years from pollination.

Forms when sperm and egg nuclei fuse.

A large group of gymnosperms, including pines, spruces, and firs, that are adapted to cold and dry climates.

Plant cells that produce the vascular system of a stem or trunk.

Conifer traits like needle-shaped leaves and waxy cuticles reduce water loss in cold, dry climates.

Conifers that lose their leaves in the fall, like the European larch or tamarack.

Gymnosperms that often resemble palms but bear large cones.

Wood that contains tracheids, but NO vessel elements.

Dominated Earth's landscape during the dinosaur era (251-65.5 million years ago).

A group of flowering plants that evolved before the separation into monocots and eudicots, exhibiting traits from both groups.

A group of flowering plants that includes magnolias, laurels, water lilies, and peppers, considered to be basal angiosperms.

Magnolias are tall trees with large, fragrant flowers with many parts, considered archaic.

A group of plants that includes bay laurel, cinnamon, spice bush, and avocado trees, characterized by fragrant leaves and small flowers.

A group of aquatic plants including water lilies, lotus, and similar plants.

A group of plants including herbs, shrubs, and small trees, known for their small, petal-less flowers in long spikes.

Water lilies are popular ornamental plants that thrive in freshwater biomes, with leaves floating or growing underwater.

A plant that produces black pepper, a common spice used for flavoring many dishes.

The adult, or sporophyte, phase is the main phase in an angiosperm's life cycle, meaning the diploid generation that produces spores.

Two major groups of flowering plants (angiosperms) distinguished by key structural differences in their leaves, roots, flowers, seeds, and vascular tissues.

Monocots have parallel veins in their leaves running lengthwise, while eudicots have a network of interconnected veins branching out.

Angiosperms produce two types of spores: microspores (male) that develop into pollen grains and megaspores (female) that form an ovule.

A pollen grain consists of two cells: a generative cell that will divide into two sperm cells and a pollen tube cell that helps in fertilization.

Monocots have their vascular bundles (xylem & phloem) scattered throughout the stem, while eudicots have them arranged in a ring shape.

Pollen grains are produced inside the anthers' microsporangia through the process of meiosis and subsequent mitosis.

Monocots have adventitious roots that arise from the stem, while eudicots have a primary taproot with lateral branches.

If a flower lacks a megasporangium, it cannot form female gametes (eggs) because the megasporangium is where the megaspores develop into female gametophytes.

Monocot pollen has one furrow (monosulcate) while eudicot pollen has three furrows (trisulcate).

If a flower lacks a microsporangium, it cannot form male gametes (sperm) because the microsporangia are where microspores develop into pollen grains.

Monocot flowers typically have parts in multiples of three, while eudicot flowers have parts in multiples of four or five.

The female gametophyte, or embryo sac, is formed when a megasporocyte undergoes meiosis to produce four haploid megaspores. The largest megaspore undergoes mitosis to form the embryo sac.

The coevolution of flowering plants and insects, specifically for pollination and herbivory, is a major driver of plant and insect diversity.

Seed plants play crucial roles in maintaining terrestrial ecosystems; they stabilize soil, cycle carbon, regulate climate, provide food and shelter, and are essential for animal survival.

Double fertilization is unique to angiosperms. It involves one sperm fertilizing the egg to form a diploid zygote (future embryo) and another sperm fusing with the central cell, forming the endosperm (food reserve).