Plant Evolution

Chapter 22 & 23 Pearson Bio 2012

 The Plant Kingdom
• MODERN taxonomy categorizes
plants as a MULTICELLULAR
kingdom
• Vast majority are photoautotrophs
– Energy from sun

– Carbon dioxide from air

– Minerals dissolved in water

 4 General Types of Plants
• 1. Byrophytes (mosses)
• 2. Pteridophytes (ferns)
• 3. Gymnosperms (conifers-pines)
• 4. Angiosperms (flowering plants)

These divisions cover the VAST majority

of living plant species.
 Setting the Stage for Plants
• Earth’s atmosphere was
originally oxygen free
• Ultraviolet radiation
bombarded the surface
• Photosynthetic cells
produced oxygen and
allowed formation of a
protective ozone layer
 Invading the Land
• Cyanobacteria were probably the first to spread into
and up freshwater streams
• Later, green algae and fungi made the journey together
• Every plant is descended
from a species of green
algae (charophyte algae)
 Adaptations to Land
• It’s all about saving & moving WATER!!!
• Root systems
• Shoot systems (stem & leaves)
• Vascular tissues (xylem & phloem)
• Waxy cuticle on the surface
• Reproduction with pollen and seeds
• Most plants have an associated fungus that
lives in their root systems helping to absorb
water and obtain nutrients (mycorrhizae)
 Alternation of Generations
• Multicellular, haploid gametophyte
generation produces sperm or egg by
MITOSIS.
• Fertilization produces a diploid zygote that
forms a multicellular sporophyte
generation.
• The sporophyte produces spores by
MEIOSIS that grow (no fertilization)
directly into the gametophyte generation.
Alternation of Generations

(SPORES)
 Evolutionary Trend in
Plant Life Cycles 1
• Bryophytes (mosses) have a dominant
gametophyte generation. The smaller
sporophyte is dependent upon and stays
attached to the gametophyte.

• Non-seed plants are like amphibians

because they still need water to get sperm
and egg together.
 Evolutionary Trend in
Plant Life Cycles 2
• Pteridophytes (ferns) have a dominant
sporophyte generation. The smaller
gametophyte is still independent, and it is
visible.

• Water is still needed to unite

sperm and egg.
 Evolutionary Trend in
Plant Life Cycles 3
• All seed plants have a HUGE sporophyte
generation and a microscopic gametophyte
that is retained within the sporophyte’s body.

• They no longer require water to get sperm and

egg together. Pollen grains carry the sperm.

• The pollen grain evolved using the same

tough material that also covers the spores.
 Evolutionary Trend
zygote only, no
sporophyte

green algae bryophytes ferns gymnosperms angiosperms

 Milestones in Plant Evolution
charophytes bryophytes lycophytes horsetails ferns cycads ginkgos conifers gnetophytes flowering plants

seed plants
plants with true leaves
vascular plants
land plants
(closely related groups)
 Pollen
• Pollen grains are sperm-
bearing male gametophytes
that develop from microspores
• Allows transfer of sperm to egg
without water
• Can drift on air currents, or be
carried by pollinators
 Seeds
• Ovules are female reproductive
structures that become seeds at
fertilization
• Consist of:
– Female gametophyte with egg cell
– Nutrient-rich tissue
– Jacket of cell layers that will form
seed coat
 Nonvascular Plants
• Bryophytes
• Include 24,000 species of:
Liverworts (top)
Hornworts (bottom)
Mosses
 Bryophytes
• (mosses) Small, nonvascular, nonwoody
• Gametophyte dominates life cycle; has
leaflike, stemlike, and rootlike parts
• Usually live in wet habitats
• Without vascular tissue to move water,
they are not very tall
• Flagellated sperm require water to reach
eggs
Moss with sporophyte
 Moss Life Cycle
Development of
mature
sporophyte (still
attached to
Zygote
gametophyte)
Diploid Stage
Fertilization Meiosis
Haploid Stage

Spores
released

male
gametophyte
tip
Sperm Male gametophyte

female
gametophyte
Female gametophyte
Egg tip
 Vascular Plants
• Majority of plants
• Have internal tissues that carry water and
solutes
• Two groups
– Seedless vascular plants (ferns)
– Seed-bearing vascular plants (gymnosperms &
angiosperms)
 Seedless Vascular Plants
• Arose during the Devonian (410 mya)
• Much more widespread and successful than
bryophytes
• Produce spores but no seeds
• Dominant sporophyte generation
• Main groups:
-- Lycophytes
-- Horsetails
-- Ferns
 Seedless Vascular Plants
• Like bryophytes:
– Live in moist, humid places
– Require water for fertilization
• Unlike bryophytes:
– Sporophyte is larger, free-living and has vascular
tissues
– Gametophyte is reduced and is usually
independent.
 Lycophytes and Horsetails
• Tree-sized lycophytes lived in
Carboniferous swamp forests –
1,100 modern forms are
smaller and include club
mosses
• Also as tall as trees,
sphenophytes grew in
Carboniferous swamp forests –
30 smaller species exist today,
known as the “horsetails”
 Ferns
• 12,000 species, mostly tropical
• Most common sporophyte structure
– Perennial underground stem (rhizome)
– Roots and fronds arise from rhizome
– Young fronds are coiled “fiddleheads”
– Mature fronds divided into leaflets
– Spores form on lower surface of some fronds
Fern
 Fern Life Cycle
The sporophyte
(still attached to
the gametophyte)
grows, develops

Sori

zygote rhizome
Diploid Stage
fertilization meiosis
Haploid Stage Spores are
Spores develop released
egg-
egg mature
producing
structure gametophyte
(underside)
sperm-
sperm producing
structure
Spore
gametophyte germinates
 Ancient Carbon Treasures
• 300-360 mya – during Carboniferous
• Mild climate and swamp forests
• Highest level of oxygen the Earth has ever
seen
• Plants with lignin-reinforced tissues and
well-developed root and shoot systems
had competitive edge
• Rising and falling sea levels led
to submerged and compressed
forests – the source of coal
 Rise of Seed-Bearing Plants

• Seeds appeared about 360 million years ago

• Seed ferns (extinct) and gymnosperms were
dominant at first
• Angiosperms arose later
 Seed-Bearing Plants
• Microspores that give rise to pollen grains
• Megaspores inside ovules
• More water-conserving than seedless
vascular plants
 Seed-Bearing Vascular Plants 1

• Gymnosperms (naked seeds) evolved first

(about 350mya)
– Cycads (Sago palms)
– Ginkgos
– Gnetophytes
– Conifers “cone bearing”

These were the dominant plants when the dinosaurs

evolved. Most were evergreens that didn’t lose
their leaves. Food source year-round.
 Seed-Bearing Vascular Plants 2

• Angiosperms (vessel seeds) or flowering

plants evolve later (about 150 mya)
– Monocots “one seed leaf”
– Dicots “two seed leaves”

These plants evolved after the dinosaurs and

became dominant fairly quickly. Many lose leaves
seasonally and may not grow year-round like most
of the gymnosperms. Less reliable as a food
source.
 Special Traits of
Seed-Bearing Plants
• Pollen grains
– Arise from microspores
– Develop into male gametophytes
– Can be transported without water
• Seeds
– Embryo sporophyte inside nutritive tissues
and a protective coat
– Can withstand hostile conditions
 Gymnosperms
• Plants with “naked seeds”
• Seeds don’t form inside an ovary
• Four groups
Conifers Ginkgos
Cycads Gnetophytes
 Conifer Characteristics
• Best known, largest number of living
species
• Pines, junipers, spruces & cypresses
• Woody trees or shrubs
• Most are evergreen
• Bear seeds on exposed scales
• Most produce woody cones
Southern Pine forest
 Conifer Distribution
• Conifers dominated during Mesozoic
• Reproduce more slowly than angiosperms; a
competitive disadvantage in many habitats
• Still dominate in far North, at higher elevations,
and in certain parts of Southern Hemisphere
 Pine Cones
• Woody scales of a female “pine
cone” are the parts where
megaspores form and develop
into female gametophytes
• Male cones, where microspores
and pollen are produced, are not
woody
 Pine
Life Female cone

Cycle Sporophyte Ovule

Male cone

This often
takes up
Pollen sac
to two
years.
Seed
Fertilization Meiosis

Egg View inside Microspores

ovule Megaspores
Pollen tube
 Cycads
• Most diverse during age of
dinosaurs
• Only 130 species remain
• Two species of Zamia are native to
U.S.
• Palmlike appearance (sago palms)
• Pollen-bearing and seed-bearing
cones on different plants
Cycad
 Ginkgos
• Diverse during age of dinosaurs
• Only surviving species, Ginkgo biloba, is
native to China and was grown in the Imperial
gardens. Nearly extinct in the wild
• Deciduous tree with fan-shaped leaves
• Trees are either male or female
• Female trees produce seeds covered with a
fleshy, foul-smelling coat
• Male trees are more often sold as
ornamentals.
Ginkgo biloba (living fossil)
 Gnetophytes
• Gnetum (tropical climbing vines)

• Ephedra (joint fir, Mormon tea)

• Welwitschia mirabilis - looks like

green straps growing in desert.

Lives for 1,000 + years

• About 100 species remain

 Angiosperms
• Flowering plants
• Dominant land plants (260,000 species)
• Defining feature: Ovules and (after
fertilization) seeds are enclosed in an
ovary
• Fruit = swollen ovary (apples, pears,
cucumbers, tomatoes etc…)
Maple tree / tulip
• Distinctive feature of angiosperms
• Male gametocyte delivers two sperm cells to
an ovule
• One fertilizes the egg; the other fertilizes a
diploid cell that forms endosperm (3n) which
divides to produce food to support the embryo
 Flower Structure
petal

stamen
(microspores
form here)
sepal

carpel
ovule in an
(megaspores
ovary
form here)
 Flowering
Plant Life
Cycle
Process may take
only a few weeks Double fertilization
Diploid
Meiosis Meiosis
instead of years Haploid
Mitosis
like conifers. Microspores
without
Pollination cytoplasmic
Some plants division

flower year-round.
Others only bloom
seasonally
Two
sperm
enter
ovule Female gametophyte
 Flowering Plant Diversity
• 90% of living plant species are angiosperms
• Three major groups:
– Magnoliids – 9,200 species, such as Magnolias
and avocados
– Monocots – 80,000 species, including grasses,
lilies and palms
– Eudicots – 170,000 species, includes
herbaceous (green-stemmed) plants like daisies
& petunias plus many woody-stemmed trees
maples, elms, oaks, etc…
 Avocado Seed /
Magnolid

MONOCOTS

Magnolia Tree / Magnoliid

 Flowering Plant Evolution
water star
Amborella lilies anise magnoliids monocots eudicots

basal groups
 Deforestation
• Result of demand for wood as fuel and
lumber; cultivation of land for agriculture
• Greatest occurrence in Brazil, Indonesia,
Columbia, and Mexico
• Annually an area of rainforest equal to the
state of WV is lost.
• About 1/3 of all pharmaceutical drugs were
found in plants