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Basic Botany
Basic Botany
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.
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