Basic Botany

Botany: the Study of Plants

What is a plant?

Lives on land
Doesnt move under its own power
Produces food and energy from sunlight
(photosynthesis)
multicellular
embryo develops inside the mother's body

Excludes algae (live in water) and fungi (no

photosynthesis) and bacteria (unicellular)

All of these have been traditionally part of botany, in

which plants were defined as anything that wasnt an
animal.

However, some plants dont photosynthesize

(parasites) or live in the water. They are considered
plants because they are descended from legitimate
photosynthesizing, land-dwelling plants.

Plant Cells
All living things are made of cells.
Plant cells are very similar to animal
cells:
plants and animals are both eukaryotes
(as opposed to prokaryotes, which are
more primitive single celled things like
bacteria and archaea)
eukaryote means the cell's DNA is
enclosed in a nucleus

all cells are surrounded by a cell

membrane, which keeps the inside
separated from the outside.
The cytoplasm is everything between
the cell membrane and the nucleus. It
contains lots of useful organelles which
do all the metabolic activity and
chemical changes needed to keep the
cell alive.

Plant Cells vs. Animal Cells

Plant cells are different from animal cells in several ways:
Rigid cell wall (cell wall is OUTSIDE the cell membrane. It is the box that
contains the cell.)
Central vacuole that stores water
Chloroplasts that perform photosynthesis

Chloroplasts were originally free-living photosynthetic bacteria that

got swallowed by a primitive eukaryotic cell and developed a mutually
beneficial symbiotic relationship inside the cell (endosymbiont
theory)

Cell Walls and Vacuoles

All cells have to deal with osmotic pressure.
There is a higher concentration of particles inside the cell than outside: in other
words, there is less water in the cell than outside
So, water is trying to diffuse into the cell, going down its concentration gradient
This would cause an unprotected cell to swell up and burst.
The cell wall acts as a rigid box to prevent the cell from bursting.

On the other hand, if the plant isnt getting enough water (or if the plant is
put in a high salt solution), the water supply in the central vacuole moves
into the cytoplasm.
This causes the cell to shrink away from the cell wall.
The plant wilts

Cell Walls

The cell wall is mostly made of cellulose.

Cellulose is a molecule made of many
glucose sugar molecules linked in long
chains
Starch is also made of many glucose units,
but the linkages between the glucoses is
different in cellulose and starch. This gives
them different chemical properties.
Notably, almost all organisms can easily
digest starch, but very few can digest
cellulose.
Mostly just some types of bacteria and
protists
Cellulose is probably the most common
organic compound on Earth.

In cells needed for support or water

conduction, the cell wall is thickened and
strengthened by lignin, a complex organic
compound that is even harder to digest
than cellulose.

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis uses energy from

light to convert carbon dioxide
(CO2) into sugar.
Occurs in the chloroplasts, which
were once free-living bacteria that
got swallowed up by
endosymbiosis.
In other parts of the plant,
chloroplasts get used for storage of
food or other pigments (like in
flowers)

Two parts to photosynthesis: light

reactions (occur only in the light)
and the Calvin cycle (occurs in both
light and dark).
Light reactions: Light energy is
captured by chlorophyll and used to
extract electrons from water, which
converts it to oxygen.
Calvin cycle: The high energy
electrons are used to convert
carbon dioxide into sugar. This is
called carbon fixation.

Plant Tissues
A tissue is a group of cells that
performs a specific function.
Four basic types in plants:
meristems, dermal tissue,
vascular tissue, and ground
tissue.
Meristems are special regions
where cell division occurs.
Meristems produce all of the
new cells; once a cell leaves
the meristem, it can enlarge
but not divide.
Apical meristem: at the tip of
the plant shoots and at the tip
of the roots. This is where
growth occurs, producing new
leaves, branches, flowers, etc.
Lateral meristem: in the stems
of woody plants: they produce
lateral growth. Also called
cambium layers.

Vascular Tissue

Two basic types: xylem and phloem

Xylem conducts water and mineral nutrients up from the roots.
Xylem cells are dead and hollowed out.
Wood is made of xylem, but even non-woody plants have xylem.
Water is pulled up by transpiration: water molecules evaporating from the leaves
pull other water molecules up the tubes, because water molecules stick together.

Phloem cells carry organic matter (mostly sugar) from the leaves to other
parts of the plant.
Unlike xylem, phloem cells are alive.
The cells are connected by many pores, so material flows easily between the cells.
Flow of material in both directions

More Tissues
Dermal tissue is the outer covering (the skin) of the
plant.
Secretes waxes that make up the waterproof cuticle.
Stomata: openings in the leaves to let gases in ant out.
Stomata open and close under different conditions.
Hairs on leaves, shoots, and roots

Ground tissue is all the rest of the cells in the plant.

Photosynthesis, food storage, support, fibers.

The Plant Body

The basic parts: roots, shoots,
leaves, flowers, fruits.
Most photosynthesis occurs in the
leaves. Photosynthesis produces
sugar (sucrose), which is used to
feed the rest of the plant.
Water and mineral nutrients come
from the soil: they are absorbed
into the plant by the roots.
Stems hold the leaves and flowers
up in the air: off the ground, above
things that might block the sun,
away from predators and decay
organisms. Stems contain the
plumbing that carries nutrients to
different parts of the plant.
Flowers are the reproductive
structures, which produce the plant
equivalents of sperm and egg.
Fruits hold the seeds (products of
reproduction) and provide nutrients
and a means of dispersing the
seeds to new locations.

Leaves
Leaves are the main site of
photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis mostly occurs
in the layer of cells just below
the epidermis. (palisade layer)
The sugars are then
transported to other parts of
the plant through the vascular
system.
The spongy tissue below the
palisade layer carries the sugar
(dissolved in water) to the veins
of the leaf, which are part of
the vascular system.

Monocot leaves have parallel

leaf veins, while dicot leaves
have a net-like vein pattern.
Leaves are coated with a waxy
layer called the cuticle. The
leaf epidermis cells secrete the
cuticle, which helps prevent
the leaf from drying out.

Stomata in the
Leaves
Photosynthesis needs CO2 from
the atmosphere, which comes in
through the stomata.
Transpiration needs water vapor to
evaporate out through the
stomata
Stomata are located on the
underside of the leaves.
Stomata can open and close: need
them open to admit carbon
dioxide, but not so much as to dry
out the plant.
C4 and CAM metabolism: Some
plants (notably grasses and
succulents like cactus) have
developed a fancy mechanism
that allows CO2 to enter the
stomata and be temporarily fixed
at night when it is cool. During
the day, the stomata are closed
and the plant does the rest of
photosynthesis on the stored CO 2.

Stems

In the stem, the xylem and phloem cells are

organized into vascular bundles.
In monocots (grasses, lilies, orchids), the vascular
bundles are scattered throughout the stem.
In non-woody dicots, the vascular bundles form a
ring, with the xylem cells towards the inside and
the phloem cells on the outside.
In woody dicots (trees and shrubs), the stem
grows larger by adding new xylem and phloem
cells.
The new cells are made by a cambium layer
between the xylem and phloem. At different times
of the year, different sizes of xylem cell are
produced, creating an annual growth ring.
Wood is xylem cells with their cell walls thickened
with lignin. The inner areas of a trees trunk (the
heartwood) no longer functions, but the outer part
(sapwood) conducts water up from the roots.
The bark is produced by a second cambium layer,
the cork cambium, which is outside the phloem
layer.

Roots
The roots anchor the plant to
the ground. They also take in
water and minerals from the
soil.
Water and minerals are then
conducted to the rest of the
plant through the xylem
The leaves supply sugar to the
root cells through the phloem.

Two main types: fibrous roots (

a tangle of small roots) and
taproots (a single main root)
Fibrous roots are common in
the grasses
Taproots are often enlarged for
food storage: things like
carrots and turnips.

Flowers
Flowers are the defining
characteristic of the angiosperms
(the flowering plants). They are the
reproductive organs of the plant.
Flowers consist of 4 whorls of
organs: sepals, petals, stamens,
and carpels.
Carpels used to be called pistils.

The four whorls of the flower are

inserted into a receptacle, which is
the tip of the flower stem.
Different plant groups have
characteristic numbers of these
parts: monocot flower parts come
in 3s, while dicot flower parts come
in 4s (especially the mustard
family) and 5s (like roses and
apples).

Four Whorls
The sepals are the outermost whorl. They are the protective
covering for the unopened flower bud. Usually sepals are green
and leaf-like.
However, sometimes the sepals are colored: in lilies there are 3 sepals
and petals that are almost identical.

The petals are the next whorl in. They are the part that are often
conspicuously colored, used to attractive animal pollinators like
bees, birds, and bats.
The petals are not always symmetical, and sometimes they are fused
to each other and to the sepals.

The stamens are the male reproductive organs. The most

important parts of the stamens are the anthers, which release the
pollen grains. Pollen is the plant equivalent of sperm cells.
The carpels are the female reproductive organs. The most
important part of the carpel are the ovaries, which hold the ovules.
The ovule is the plant equivalent of the egg cell. After the ovules
are fertilized, the ovary develops into a fruit. Another important
carpel structure: the stigma, the sticky part where the pollen lands.

More Flowers
Some flowers are imperfect,
which means they contain
only male parts or only
female parts. Corn is a good
example: the tassel is the
male flower: it sheds pollen.
The silks and ears are the
female parts: each corn kernel
started out as a single ovule.

Perfect flowers contain both

male and female parts. This
is the usual condition in
plants.

Some plants have male

flowers on one plant and
females on another: date
palms, marijuana, holly are
example.

Meiosis and Fertilization

All plants except the most
primitive ones (the bryophytes)
are basically diploid. This means
that every cell has two sets of
chromosomes, one from each
parent, just like us.
For reproduction to occur, the
plants must produce haploid
cells, the gametes. Gametes
have one copy of every
chromosome.
The male gamete (pollen)
fertilizes the female gamete
(ovule) to produce the zygote,
the first cell of the new individual.
The zygote is diploid.
Meiosis is the cell division process
that creates haploid gametes
from the diploid plant cells.

Pollination

Pollination is the process of getting the pollen to

the stigma of the female plant.
Some plants allow self-fertilization: the male
pollen fertilizes the female ovule of the same
plant. This is the closest possible genetic cross,
and it isnt possible in animals.
Most of the time it is advantageous to have crosspollination: the pollen from one plant fertilizes the
ovules of another plant. This increases the
genetic diversity of the offspring, which means
more will survive under varying conditions.

Wind pollination is how all gymnosperms are

pollinated. Also, angiosperms with small,
inconspicuous flowers. Grasses are a good
example.
The plant produces huge numbers of pollen grains,
which get blown off the anthers by the wind, and
occasionally end up on the female parts of another
plant of the same species. Not very efficient.

Animal Pollination

Animal pollination is much more efficient

than wind pollination: the animal delivers
the pollen directly to the female.
Bees, butterflies, wasps, birds, bats
very ancient plants like magnolia are
pollinated by beetles. Bees hadn't
evolved when these flowers first
appeared.

Plants attract animals by supplying them

with food. Nectar is a sugary liquid
secreted by glands at the base of the
flower: the animal eats it. Animals also
eat the pollen. However, some pollen
gets on the animal and gets carried to
the next flower, where is gets deposited
on the stigma.
So, the animal isn't pollinating just to be
helpful. The animal is feeding, and
pollination is just an accidental byproduct.

Plants also supply guiding signals: flower

color, pattern, scent

Co-evolution

Animal pollination is a major evolutionary innovation in the angiosperms, and

the plants and animals have modified each other through the process of coevolution to make it more efficient for both.
Natural selection for mutations in the plant that make it more attractive to a
pollinator: the mutant plants are fertilized more frequently than the original plants.
Natural selection for mutations in the animal to make it more efficient at finding the
proper plant and extracting the nectar.

Some examples:
flowers with long throats are pollinated by hummingbirds with long beaks.
Rotting meat smell attracts fly pollinators.
Orchid flowers look enough like the pollinating wasp that the wasps try to mate with
them.

Bees don't see the color red, but they do see blue and UV. Bee-pollinated
flowers are usually blue or purple, and often have patterns visible in the UV
range.
Butterflies can see red and all other colors, but have a poor sense of smell.
They also need a wide perch to land on. Butterfly-pollinated flowers are large
and bright, with little scent.
Moths are nocturnal and have a good sense of smell. Moth-pollinated flowers
are white so they can be seen at night, and have a strong scent.

Coevolution Examples

Fertilizatio
n

Once pollen has been deposited on the stigma, the process of fertilization occurs.
Angiosperms (flowering plants) have a unique process called double fertilization.
Found in all angiosperms but no other organisms.
The pollen grain grows a long tube down the carpel until it reaches an ovule in the
ovary.
Two sperm nuclei then enter the
ovule.
One sperm nucleus fuses with
an ovule nucleus to form the
zygote, the first cell of the new
individual. The zygote starts
dividing and becomes an
embryo. This is the equivalent of
fertilization in animals.
The other sperm nucleus fuses
with two other ovule nuclei to
form the endosperm, which is a
nutritive tissue for the developing
seed. Most of the food found in
grains like wheat, rice and maize
is the endosperm.

Post-Fertilization

The embryo develops into a seed.

Seeds are multicellular, fully formed, miniature plants that are
in a dormant state. This allows them to survive winter or other
bad conditions, and then to quickly turn into functioning plants
when conditions improve.
In contrast, lower plants have single-celled spores instead of
seeds. Spores can only survive briefly, and it takes a long time
to get from a single cell to a large mature organism.

Sepals, petals, and stamens wither away.

The ovary increases in size and becomes a fruit, which
contains the seeds.
Fruits are a mechanism for seed dispersal.
As with pollination, some fruits use animals for dispersal, and
other fruits use the wind.

Fruit Development

Fruits
Fruits develop from the wall of
the ovary, the pericarp. Fruits
contain the seeds and are
responsible for seed dispersal.
Lots of types of fruit, we are
going to stick with a simple
classification scheme. First,
we classify by the number of
ovaries that make up the fruit:
Most fruits are simple fruits:
the product of a single ovary,
which can contain one or
many seeds
There are also aggregate and
multiple fruits, which develop
from one flower that has
many carpels, or from the
fusion of the ovaries form
many flowers: raspberries and
pineapples for example.

More Fruit
Classification
Second, three categories
of
fruit appearance:
Fleshy: what we think of as fruit:
a soft, juicy layer surrounding
the seeds. This layer causes an
animal to eat the fruit and carry
the seeds to new locations in its
digestive system, depositing the
seeds with a load of fertilizer.
Dry: the pericarp is either tough
and woody or thin and papery.
Some dry fruit is dehiscent,
which means it splits open to
release the seeds, like pea
pods or milkweed or poppy
Other dry fruit is indehiscent,
meaning that the seeds stay
inside the fruit, like the
winged seeds of maple trees
and cereal grains.

Seeds
Seeds develop from the fertilized ovule. Their DNA
comes from the pollen (father) as well as from the
ovule (mother).
In contrast, the fruits DNA is strictly from the maternal
plant.

Inside the seed, the plant has both a root and a shoot.
Seeds contain a food source as well as the embryo.
Until photosynthesis gets started, the new plant
needs to live on stored food.
The cotyledons are the first leaves of the new plant.
They are fully formed in the seed. The cotyledons
unfold when the seed germinates.
Major difference between monocots and dicots:
Monocots have a single cotyledon (which is what
monocot means). They use endosperm (the other
product of double fertilization) as food.
Dicots have two cotyledon leaves. Before the seed in
fully formed, the dicot cotyledons absorb the nutrients
from the endosperm, so dicot seeds use food stored in
the cotyledons, not the endosperm.

Seed Germination

Seeds need proper conditions of moisture, oxygen, and temperature to germinate.

Some seeds will only germinate if they have been through a cold spell, or if they have
had their seed coats injured by fire or abrasion.
Seeds of the Tambalacoque tree on the island of Mauritius (in the Indian Ocean)
apparently only germinated when passed through the digestive system of the dodo
(which is extinct). Turkeys work as an adequate substitute. (this story may not be 100%
true)

The dry seed imbibes water, and the root sprouts, followed by the shoot.
Once the shoot breaks through the surface of the ground, it is exposed to light,
which allows it to develop chlorophyll and start photosynthesis.

Legal Fruits

Botanically, a fruit is an ovary that has ripened after fertilization.

However, in 1883 a 10% duty was placed on all vegetables being
imported into the US.
John Nix, an imported from New Jersey, argued that he shouldnt
have to pay the duty on tomatoes, because botanists consider
them fruits.
The case went all the way to the Supreme Court (which means at
least 3 separate courts examined the question). In 1893, the
Court ruled that for legal purposes, tomatoes were a vegetable,
not a fruit.
Based on popular usage: vegetables (including tomatoes) are
eaten at dinner, while fruits are sweet and are eaten at dessert.
Tomatoes are the state vegetable of New Jersey. Ohio considers
tomatoes to be the state fruit. In Arkansas, tomatoes are both the
state vegetable and the state fruit (indecisive).

Tomato
Fight!
In Spain,
they have an
annual
tomato fight

Plant Evolutionary Trends

Plants are thought to have evolved from the green algae, which live
in the water.
By moving onto the land, plants had to deal with 2 big issues:
gravity ( or lack of buoyancy) and dryness.
Major trends:
1. development of roots, shoots, vascular system. Roots needs to
absorb nutrients, not just hold onto the surface. Shoots need to
support photosynthetic system off the ground. Vascular system to
transport materials between parts of the plant. Waxy cuticle on the
leaves to prevent desiccation.
2. increasing the diploid phase of the life cycle, and decreasing the
haploid phase. Diploid gives a backup copy of each gene, as a defense
against random mutations. Allows a larger, more complex body.
3. Seed and pollen protection and dispersal. Development of very
different male and female gametes, so only one type needs to be
dispersed in the environment. The pollen (male gametes) needs to be
protected from desiccation, and needs to find the female gametes
successfully. Seeds also need to be protected from harsh conditions
and to disperse to new locations.
4. Flowers and fruits used to attract animals to help spread pollen and
offspring.

Major Plant Groups

We are going to briefly
examine several groups
that show these trends:
1. bryophytes: nonvascular plants including
liverworts and mosses
2. seedless vascular
plants such as ferns and
horsetails
3. gymnosperms, which
have seeds and a vascular
system, such as the
conifers
4. angiosperms, the
flowering plants that
dominate the world today.

Bryophytes

The bryophytes include the mosses,

liverworts, and hornworts. They are short
plants mostly growing in wet
environments.
Bryophytes have a waxy cuticle on their
leaves to prevent desiccation.
Bryophytes have no internal vascular
system.
Bryophytes spend most of their lives as
haploids: the body of the moss plant is
haploid.
The only diploid structure is a stalk and
spore capsule, which grow out of the
haploid plant body.
Peat moss is used to help soil hold water.
It can also be used as fireplace fuel when
it is dried. Peat bogs are very acidic,
which allows plants like cranberries and
blueberries to grow.
Also, the acidic conditions preserve animal
bodiesseveral humans who lived up to
5000 years ago have been dug out of peat
bogs.

Bryophyte Life Cycle

The haploid gametophyte plant

bodies are either male or female.
Each produces a different kind of
gamete (eggs or sperm) at the
tip of the plant body.
The sperm are motile: they swim
through drops of water (rain or
dew) to reach the eggs. The
eggs are encased within the
female gametophytes body.
After fertilization, the diploid
sporophyte grows as a stalk out
of the female gametophytes
body.
After the diploid sporophyte
matures, the cells in it undergo
meiosis, forming haploid spores.
The haploid spores disperse in
the wind, and go on to form new
gametophyte plants.

Seedless
Vascular Plants

The seedless vascular plants

include ferns and horsetails.
A vascular system to distribute
nutrients throughout the plant
allows them to grow tall. Some
ferns grow up to 80 feet tall, and
some extinct horsetails were also
tree-sized.
Being seedless means that the
diploid sporophyte grows out of
the fertilized egg, attached to the
gametophyte.
The diploid sporophyte is much
larger than the haploid
gametophyte stage: most of what
you see in these plants is the
sporophyte.
The sperm have flagella and
swim to the eggs through drops
of water (just like the
bryophytes).

Fern Life Cycle

The main plant body in the

diploid sporophyte. Specialized
structures on the underside of
the leaves develop, and inside
them meiosis occurs.
The haploid meiotic products
are released as spores, which
are dispersed to new locations
and germinate into
gametophytes.
The haploid gametophytes are
quite small, a few millimeters in
diameter. They contain
structures that produce sperm
and eggs.
The sperm swim to the eggs
and fertilize them
The fertilized eggs are diploid,
and they grow into the
sporophyte plant body.

Seeds and Pollen

A major development in plant

evolution was the development
of pollen grains and seeds.
Pollen grains are the male
gametophyte packaged in a
hard coat that allows it to reach
the female without having to
swim through water. This is a
large advantage on dry land.
Seeds are diploid sporophyte
embryos, packaged to survive
a period of dormancy and bad
environmental conditions.
Seeds develop from the
fertilized egg. They are
multicellular: small plants that
need very little growth to live
independently.

Gymnosperms
Gymnosperms were the first
plants to have pollen grains
and seeds.
Gymnosperm means naked
seed: their seeds develop on
the outside of the plant,
instead of inside an ovary as in
the flowering plants.
The most important
gymnosperms today are the
conifers: pines, redwoods,
cedars, etc. All are woody
plants with needles or scales
as leaves.
Conifers are our main source of
wood and paper.
Ginkos and cycads are other
gymnosperms.
Cycads were the dominant
plant type in the Mesozoic era

Angiosperms

Angiosperms are flowering

plants. Most of the plants we
see are angiosperms.
Unlike the other plant groups,
angiosperms are often fertilized
with the aid of animals: insects,
birds, bats, that carry the
pollen from one plant to
another. The plants and their
pollinators have co-evolved in
a symbiotic relationship.
Flowers produce the visual
signals and the scents that
pollinators use to find the
plants. Flowers secrete nectar
which is eaten by the
pollinators. The pollen is
carried from flower to flower on
the body of the pollinator, as a
consequence of its going into
the flower in search of nectar.
Some angiosperms have winddispersed pollen. Flowers on
these plants are usually small
and inconspicuous.

Angiosperm Life Cycle

Most of the angiosperms life is

the diploid sporophyte stage.
The male gametophyte is the
pollen grain; the female
gametophyte is the ovule.
Angiosperms have double
fertilization: 2 sperm fertilize
different cells in the ovule,
producing the diploid embryo
and the triploid endosperm.
The embryo develops into a
seed, a small immature plant,
which goes into a dormant
phase.
The seed germinates, putting
our a root and a shoot. The
shoot turns green and starts
photosynthesis when light hits
it.

Angiosperm Groups
Flowering plants used to be
split into 2 groups:
monocots and dicots.
More recently it has
become clear that several
groups split off from the
main evolutionary lineage
before the monocots did.
Now, we can divide the
angiosperms into 3 main
groups: the basal
angiosperms, the
monocots, and the
eudicots.
--basal angiosperms are not a
single unified group. We are
just throwing them together
for convenience.

Basal
Angiosperms
Most basal, meaning the earliest to split off

from the main lineage: Amborella. A group

of shrubs growing on the island of New
Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean east of
Australia.
Magnolia and relatives is the largest group
of basal angiosperms. Several useful ones:
nutmeg, bay laurel, cinnamon, avocado,
black pepper.
Water lilies are another group of basal
angiosperms.

Monocots
Monocots are a very large group.
One cotyledon leaf. The cotyledons are the
leaves found in the seeds that push up above
the soil when the seed imbibes water and
starts to grow.
Parallel leaf veins
Flower parts in groups of 3
Scattered vascular bundles. Means there are
no woody monocots.

Main groups: grasses, lilies, orchids,

palms, onions.

Eudicots
The largest group of plants today.
Many groups, mostly of interest only to
botanists.

We will often speak of plant families. A few

examples:
Nightshade family: tomato, potato,
tobacco, capsicum pepper
Rose family: apples, cherries, strawberries
Legume family: peas, beans