20.

1 Origins of Plant Life

Bell Ringer

• Read the info on p611, then answer the following

questions.
• 1-Based on the question on page 611, what form do you
think this domination takes?
• 2-What are some important plants in the US?
• 3-What value do other plants have?
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

KEY CONCEPT
Plant life began in the water and became adapted to
land.
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

Land plants evolved from green algae.

• Green algae is a photosynthetic eukaryote

• It is a plant like protist
• It has pigments that give various types of algae their
distinct colors
20.1 Origins of Plant Life
• Plants and green algae have many common traits.
– both are photosynthetic
eukaryotes
– both have the same types
of chlorophyll
– both use starch as a
storage product
– both have cell walls with
cellulose
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• Genetic analysis points to the common ancestor of all

plants.
– extinct green algae species in class Charophyceae
– modern charophyceans common in freshwater habitats
like lakes and ponds.
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

Question

• What evidence suggests that green algae are close

relatives of land plants?
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

Bell Ringer

• Look at figure 20.2 on page 613. Answer the

following questions:
• 1-What is the common ancestor of all plants?
• 2-What is the first category of plants to evolve from
the ancestral line (in # 1)
• 3-When did the flowering plant lineage diverge from
the cone-bearing plant lineage?
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• Important plant characteristics likely originated in

charophyceans.
– multicellular body allowing for specialization of
cells and tissues

– cell division that allows for chemical communication

between cells
– reproduction involving sperm swimming to egg
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

– Ancestral charophyceans lived in areas of shallow

water.
– Those that could survive longer dry periods were
favored.
– Like mosses they relied on droplets of water that
brought sperm to eggs to produce the next generation.
– Also have a simple structure similar to that of moss,
keeping low to the ground to retain moisture
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

-First true plants probably grew at edges of water.

-True plants have embryos that develop while attached

to female parent.
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• True plants evolved through natural selection.

20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• Challenges of living on land have selected for certain

plant adaptations.
• Unlike land plants algae are constantly surrounded by
water.
– Needed for photosynthesis
– Buoyancy supports weight
– Allow reproduction and dispersal
– Prevents from drying out
20.1 Origins of Plant Life
Plants have adaptations that allow them to live on land.
• A cuticle allows plants to retain moisture.
– waxy, waterproof layer
– holds moisture in
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• Stomata are tiny holes

in the cuticle.

stoma

– can open and close

– allow air to move in and out
Without stomata movement of air would be prevented by the
cuticle
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• A vascular system allows resources to move to different

parts of the plant.
– collection of specialized tissues
– brings water and mineral nutrients up from roots
– disperses sugars from the leaves
– allows plants to grow higher off the ground

water
and
mineral
nutrients

sugars
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• Lignin allows plants to grow upright.

lignin

plant cells

– hardens cell walls of some vascular tissues

– provides stiffness to stems
– Allows plants to retain upright structure
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• Plant height is limited by the ability of a plant to support

it’s own weight.
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• Pollen and seeds are adaptations that allow seed plants

to reproduce completely free of water.
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• Pollen grains allow for reproduction without free-standing

water.
– pollen grains contain a cell
that divides to form sperm
– pollen can be carried by
wind or animals to female
structures
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• A seed is a storage device for a plant embryo.

– seed coats protect
embryos from drying
wind and sunlight
– embryo develops
when environment is
favorable
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

Bell Ringer

• Some scientist think that certain species of green algae

should be in the kingdom Plantae. What reasons might
these scientist use to defend their position?
• Do you agree or disagree? Why?
20.1 Origins of Plant Life
Plants evolve with other organisms in their environment.

• Plants have coevolved with other terrestrial organisms

for millions of years
• Some of these relationships are cooperative while others
have evolved between plants species and the animals
that eat them.
20.1 Origins of Plant Life
• Plants and other organisms can share a mutualistic relationship.
– a mutualism is an interaction in which two species benefit
– plant roots and certain fungi and bacteria
– flowering plants and their animal pollinators
- Ex: hawk mouth and orchid
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• Plants have adaptations that prevent animals from eating

them.
– spines and thorns
– Ex: Roses, cactus
20.1 Origins of Plant Life
Plants have adaptations that prevent animals from
eating them.
• Chemicals
– Some insects use defensive chemicals produced by
plants to their advantage.
- Ex: larvae of monarch butterflies feed exclusively on
milkweed species. Milkweed plants produce a chemical that
makes monarch larvae, adults, and even eggs taste bad to
potential predators.
20.1 Origins of Plant Life

Question

• What do pollen and seeds allow plants to do on land?

20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• What do stomata and cuticles allow plants to do?

20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• What does lignin help plants do?

20.1 Origins of Plant Life

• What does a vascular system allow plants to do?