Lesson 1: Intro

How do plants get energy?

Equations:

Word Carbon Dioxide + water + light energy -> glucose + oxygen

Chemical

- Carbohydrates produced in photosynthesis are the main source of chemical energy that
a plant needs for maintenance, growth and development

Vascular plant structure

Tissue types:

Dermal Vascular Ground Meristematic

Outermost layer Xylem (thick dead 3 kinds: parenchyma, Undifferentiated

with a waxy at maturity) and collenchyma, sclerenchyma cells
cuticle -> protect phloem (thin, -> perform cellular processes to
against, injury, alive at maturity) support growth and development,
disease, water -> transport water store carbohydrates, support and
loss and nutrients protect
Dicot vs. Monocot (Angiosperms):

Cotyledon: A leaf embryo with in seed; structure that supplies nutrients to plant embryo.
Examples:
- Monocots: Grains, grasses
- Dicots: Oak, Maple, Daisies
Lesson 2: Plant structures
Leaves:
Functions:
1. Main site of photosynthesis
2. Location of gas exchange
3. Protection by producing lannine caffeine
Chemicals in leaves:
1. Protection:
a. I.e. Rhubarb leaves contain oxalic acid, causing nausea, vomiting and sometimes
kidney damage
2. Human benefit:
a. Digitalis, a heart disease treatment from the foxglove plant
b. Cancer drug from rosy periwinkle plant
3. Psychotropic drugs:
a. These partially debilitate the herbivores that eat them by altering perception,
emotion or behavior
i. I.e. cannabis, leaves of cora plant (cocaine), opium poppy
Specializations:
1. Storage:
a. I.e. Onion leaves store water and carbohydrates.
b. Aloe vera leaves store H2O and contain chemical (with medical properties)
c. Jade leaves store lots of water
2. Protection:
a. I.e. Family of Solanaceae plants contain chemical nicotine - kills insects, deters
herbivores.
b. Some cali have developed spikes to stop from being eaten
3. Climate
a. i.e.Some trees (i.e. maple) lose leaves in fall -> consent H2O & nutrients in winter
b. Gymnosperms have small needles shaped leaves with thick cuticles -> shed
snow more & contain chemical prevail freezing.
Human uses:
1. Food
a. I.e. Herbs for flowering
b. Teas
 c. Wax for car, furniture polish
d. Religion ceremonies

Stems:
Functions:
1. Connect roots to leaves (vascular system)
2. Support leaves and reproductive organs (flower)
3. Might store H2O/carbohydrates
4. Might have thorns, etc. to protect from herbivores.
Types:
1. Herbaceous:
a. Stems that don't have wood. (i.e. asparagus, carrots, mint, grass)
2. Woody:
a. Stems that contain wood (i.e. roses, maple tree, pine tree)
Specializations:
1. Tubers:
a. Grow underground to store food & H2O/form a new plant
i. I.e. potatoes
2. Stolons:
a. Grow along soil instead of upright
i. I.e. Spider plants
3. Vines:
a. Take advantage of other objects to raise and support leaves (i.e. Grape stem)
4. Human Uses:
a. Wood: Constructive, furniture, paper, etc.
b. Food:
i. Sugar cane, potatoes, celery asparagus
c. Maple syrup
d. Bamboo: Food, constructions
e. Salicylic acid (aspirin) from willow bark
f. Anti-cancer drugs
i. I.e. Taxol-yew tree
g. Cinnamon
Roots:
Functions:
1. Anchor plant to ground
2. Keep plant upright
3. Absorb water
4. Absorb nutrients (not carbohydrates)
Types:
1. Taproot:
a. Large, thick roots which may have smaller, lateral roots branching from it. Many
tap roots have root hairs -> hair like cut growth of epidermal system
b. Present in gymnosperms and angiosperm eudicots.
2. Fibrous root:
a. Many small roots, each of which may have lateral roots and root hairs. Tend to be
shallower in ground
b. Present in angiosperm monocots
Specializations:
1. Symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizal fungi
2. Help absorption of H2O and nutrients
3. “Strangler” fig has its seeds deposited o branches of taller trees (by monkeys/birds) ->
roots grow downward, warping around, the trunk of host tree, killing it
4. Tuberous roots: Store carbohydrates (i.e. yams & sweet potatoes)
a. I.e. Yams and sweet potatoes
Human Uses:
1. Food: Parsnips, turnips, beets, taro (bubble tea, flavoring), sweet potatoes, licorice
2. Beverages: root beer from sassafras plant
3. Used for dyes: beds
4. Medicinal uses
5. Erosion control: from a prop that holds the upper layer of soil in place.

Leaf structure - Cross section

Name Function

Mesophyll Tissue inside the leaf, made up of thin walled cells containing
chloroplast
Palisade A layer of densely packed, column shaped mesophyll cells in a plant
mesophyll leaf

Spongy mesophyll Layer of loosely spaced mesophyll cells in a leaf

Stoma (tappenings The movement of gasses in and out of leaf occurs here, on underside of
leaf

Guard cell Surrounds stomata opening, specialized cells swell and contract to
control gas exchange

Aerenchyma Type of tissue in aquatic plants composed of cells with large holes
between them helps with floating

Root structure

Name Function

Root cap Protects meristem at root tip

Root cortex Parenchyma cells under epidermis of roots (type of ground tissue)
Endodermis Innermost layer of cells in root

Casparian strip Wax-like ship flat runs through cell wall of endodermal cells

Vascular cylinder Central part of root that contain xylem and phloem
Lesson 3: Plant growth regulators
● Plants are sessile, their body shapes are able to change in order to adapt to changes in
their environment.
● They do this using the plant growth regulators which are chemicals that signal plant cells
to undergo change.

Tropism:
Directional change in growth or movement in response to a stimulus

4 types:
1. Phototropism:
a. Growth in response to light -> grow TOWARDS the light
2. Gravitropism:
a. Growth in response to gravity -> grow AGAINST gravity
i. Soil, air, etc can also affect the way they grow
3. Thigmotropism:
a. Growth in response to touch -> climbing on something
4. Hydrotropism:
a. Growth in response to water -> grow TOWARDS water
Auxins:
- Plant hormones
(chemicals) that
promote cell
elongation during
tropisms.

Gibberellins:
- Plant hormones that
promote cell
division, flowering
and fruit production.

Ethylene gas:
- Plant’s stress hormone and helps protect the plant against environmental stress.
- Ethylene is also released as a fruit ripen, causing further ripening

- Food producers will add ethylene to

encourage fruit to ripen at the same time. OR they
will use special materials to absorb ethylene to
prevent ripening
- Bananas secrete a lot of ethylene so if you
want fruit to ripen, enclose it in a bag with a
banana.
Lesson 4: Transport in vascular plants
Reminder:
- Xylem: Transports water and dissolved nutrients (minerals, NOT sugar) from soil
- Phloem: Transports sugars.
- Cohesion: When particles of the same substance stick
together (water)
- Adhesion: Unlike substances stick together (water to glass)

Osmosis:
- Diffusion of water molecules across a selectively permeable
membrane from an area of high concentration to an area of
low concentration
- Doesn’t require energy

Transport in root:
- Cytoplasm of plant cells has a low concentration of H2O molecules than soil water, so
water moves/enters passively via osmosis
- Because the concentration of nutrients (minerals, NOT sugar) in the cytoplasm of plants
already has a higher concentration than in the soil, they won’t enter by diffusion. The
plant must use active transport which uses energy
- The casparian (waxy) strip prevents minerals and H2O from leaking back to soil once
they are inside.

Transport in stem:
- Casparian strip -> liquid now called xylem sap, and it moves UP the stem.
- As the liquid move up, more nutrients are actively pumped into xylem so concentration
goes up, pulling even more water up the stem by osmosis
- This root pressure only gets water so far, root pressure essentially can’t push against
gravity too high up a plant stem. Root pressure pushes water up using the difference in
the gradient.
Transport in leaves:
- Plant release H2O vapor through their stomata driving transpiration (evaporation of H2O
from plant leaf)
- Water vapor is attached to stomata when they are open
- Because H2O molecules have attractive forces, 1 molecule will pull a neighboring
molecule with it (making a chain!)

Root pressure (osmosis) -> Cohesion & Adhesion of H2O -> Transpiration pull evaporation of stomata

Turgor pressure:
- When a plant doesn’t have enough water it
wilts.
- When there is excess of H2O the central
vacuole is full and cause a pressure on the
cell called turgor

Transport of sugars: (Translocation)

- A cell with high concentration of sugar is called a source. A mesophyll cell is an
example of a source. (photosynthesis happens here, so glucoses directly made in this
location)
- A cell with low concentration of sugar is called sink, a sink may convert sugar to
starch/store them for later use. (like a fruit)

Direction of sugar transport:

- Unlike H2O, sugar move up or down a plant
- Generally, transport is Source -> Sink
- In angiosperms:
- Summer: Source is leave, sink is roots
- Early spring: Source is roots, sink is leaves
Summary of Transport in Phloem:
1. Source to phloem: energy used to move sugar into phloem, H2O follows by osmosis,
turgor pressure increases (Energy needed from source to phloem)
2. Translocation: Sugar moving between phloem cell (through phloem tube)
3. Phloem to sink: Sink cells have a lower concentration of sugar so diffusion is used, H2O
then moves back o xylem (Energy not required from phloem to sink)
Lesson 5: Reproduction in plants
Asexual:
1. Name of structures involved:
a. Corons
b. Stolons
c. “Eye” on tubers
d. Suckers (shouts that grow from a plant’s roots)
e. Growth fragment of roots and shouts
2. Advantages:
a. All offspring could get trait that helps them survive in a specific environment
b. Less energy required, quicker
c. Only one plant needed (Doesn’t depend on others)
d. Platelets are more robust and higher survival rate
3. Disadvantage:
a. Lack of variation makes individuals more susceptible to disease and damage/loss
of life due to environmental changes
4. Human uses:
a. Stem cutting:
i. Stem is cut and placed in water; Once root form, place in soil
b. Grafting:
i. a young branch from one plant is attached to the stem and root of another
plant; Often used with apple trees.

Sexual
- Why is seed important?
- Protect and nourishes the enclosed embryo and helps it by transport to a new
location
- By animals, wind, fire
1. Advantages:
a. High level of genetic diversity (help survive if environment changed)
b. Seedings can be dispersed away from plant, so less competition
c. Seed can remain dormant for a long time and germinate when conditions are
good
 2. Disadvantage:
a. Plant must devote lots of resources to sexual reproduction

In gymnosperms
- They have BOTH male and female cones.
- Pollination and germination:
- Pollen grains have to get from male cones to female ovale in female cone
- This all take place by wind and only happens when a pollen grain lands close to
ovale of female cone

In angiosperms
- Fruit containing seed
- Pollination:
- Happens by wind/animals
- Some plant have only male parts, some only female, some both
- Cross pollination is between plants, self pollination is in the same plant
- Anther (male) releases pollen which is carried to stigma (female)