Plant Morphology Lectures PDF

# Lectures in Plant Morphology ## Chapter 1: Introduction to Plant Morphology ### What is Plant? - Plants are eukaryotic organisms that photosynthesize to get food (autotroph). - Major groups of green plants: algae, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies, gymnosperms, and basal and angiosperms. ###...

# Lectures in Plant Morphology ## Chapter 1: Introduction to Plant Morphology ### What is Plant? - Plants are eukaryotic organisms that photosynthesize to get food (autotroph). - Major groups of green plants: algae, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies, gymnosperms, and basal and angiosperms. ### What is Plant Morphology? - Morphology was first described by observation through naked eyes and later through magnifying lenses and microscopes. - It mainly describes the external and internal gross structural features. - Morphology is a branch of biology dealing with studying the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features. - The word morphology comes from two Latin words (Morphe = form + logos = study) - Plant morphology is a botany field that studies the external forms and features of different plant organs like roots, stems, leaves, flowers, seeds, fruits, etc. - Also focuses on their gross internal structures. ## Importance of Morphology - Knowledge of morphology is essential for the recognition or identification of the organism. - It is an important criterion for the classification of organisms. - It gives information about the range of variations found in a species. - Knowledge of plant morphology is required to study various aspects of plant life like anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, etc. - Deficiency and toxicity symptoms are morphological changes in response to a shortage or excess minerals. - Morphology is the basis of studying the ecological adaptation of an organism to the environment. ## Morphology of flowering plants The body of a typical flowering (angiosperms) plant can be divided into: 1. An underground root system 2. An aerial shoot system. ## Chapter 2: 63 ### The root system - It is homogenous and consists of the main root and its lateral branches. ### The shoot system - It is heterogeneous and consists of the stem (including branches), leaves, and flowers. ### Vegetative parts - These perform functions of nutrition and growth. - Examples: root, stem, and leaves. ### Floral or reproductive parts - These perform functions of sexual reproduction. - Examples: flower.