UNIT 5

Plant kingdom
 PLANT KINGDOM
- Eukaryotic* organisms.
- Multicellular organisms that form tissues.
- They are always autotrophic (they perform photosynthesis**).
*Cells with cellular wall made up of cellulose.
** Cells have chloroplasts.

BOTANY
science
devoted to the
study of
plants.

Daisy
 PLANT KINGDOM
Classification
Without conductor vessels: Mosses
Non flowering plants
(Seedless plants)

With conductor vessels: Ferns

Without fruit: Gymnosperms

Flowering plants
(Plants with seeds)
(With conductor vessels)
With fruit: Angiosperms
 NON FLOWERING PLANTS
(Seedless plants)
- Without conductor vessels: Mosses
- With conductor vessels: Ferns
 MOSSES (Bryophytes)
• They are non vascular plants (they have
no conductor vessels). They are small (as they
do not have conductor vessels, they can not
grow large).
• They have tissues but they
do not have organs (no true Capsules

roots, stem or leaves).

• They have rhizoids (false roots) False leaves

False stem
and phyllodes (false stem and False roots

leaves) that form the gametophyte.

• They have a part of the plant for reproduction,
sporophyte, formed by a capsule (produces
spores) and a stalk.
• They need a lot of water and shady places.
Sporophyte

Stalk Capsule

Spores
Phyllodes
Gametophyte

Rhizoids
 FERNS (Pteridophytes)
• They are vascular plants. They can be very
large (can be shrubs, or even tree ferns in
tropical areas).
• They have organs (true roots, stems and
leaves):
– The stem grows horizontally and
underground, the rhizome.
– The leaves are large, are called fronds.
• They produce spores on sori (sorus) located
on the underside of fronds.
Frond

Spores
Sori

Rhizome Roots
SORI
Species of ferns, in the present time, are mainly shrubs.
In the present time there are tree fern species in tropical areas.
In the past there were tree fern forests, due to the tropical climate
(the drawing simulates how would these forests look like in the
carboniferous period of the history of the Earth).
Fossil of the fronds (leaves) of a tree fern species of the
Carboniferous period.
 Coal

Carbón

Coal is considered another way in which tree ferns have fossilised

in the Carboniferous period.
Rhizoids Rizoide
Phyllodes Filoide
Rhizome Rizoma
Fronds Frondas
Sorus(sori) Soro(s)
 PLANT KINGDOM
Classification
Without conductor vessels: Mosses
Non flowering plants
(Seedless plants)

With conductor vessels: Ferns

Without fruit: Gymnosperms

Flowering plants
(Plants with seeds)
(With conductor vessels)
With fruit: Angiosperms
 FLOWERING PLANTS
(Plants with seeds)
• Seeds are naked: GYMNOSPERMS
• Seeds are protected in a fruit: ANGIOSPERMS

Pine Cherry tree

 FLOWERING PLANTS
(Plants WITH SEEDS)
•After fecundation of the ovule or female
gamete (located inside the ovary of the
flower) by the male gamete (located inside
the pollen grains):
a.The ovule changes into the zygote.
b.The zygote grows and develops into the
embryo of the new plant.
c.The embryo remains protected inside the
SEED, with nutritive substances, until the
seed germinates.
SEED
So… for helping you remember that SEEDS contain
the EMBRYOS of the plants…
Remember, anytime you are eating beans, lentils,
chickpeas, pine nuts, sunflower seeds…
YOU ARE EATING EMBRYOS!
(not because of the embryo, of course, because of the
food stored inside the seed for feeding the embryo )
 GYMNOSPERMS
• The seeds are naked (not protected in
fruits).
• Most are evergreens (they have leaves all
year round).
• Usually they have needle-like leaves.
• Flowers are small and grouped in
inflorescences called cones (conifers):
– male cones.
– female cones.
 needles
cluster

needle-like leaves: sometimes grouped in clusters.

 example of a
♀ Female cone
old young
cone cone

bracts

- The young cone has one female

flower inside each of the bracts.
- The old cone has already released
the developed seeds (after the
fecundation of the ovule with the
male gametes of the pollen grain).
example of a
♂
Male cone
So… for helping you remember that CONES are the
FLOWERS of the gymnosperm plants…
Remember, when you ‘gently’ played with your
friends to throw pine cones one to each other...
YOU WERE THROWING THEM
FLOWERS! (even though you did not realise..)
Are anemophilous flowers, the POLLINATION (the transfer of
the pollen grains from the male flower to the female flower)
happens through the wind.
 GYMNOSPERMS

• They are usually woody plants.

• The majority are trees (only a few are
shrubs).
• They form forests.
• Great economic value: paper, timber,
resins etc.
 Main groups of
GYMNOSPERMS
• Cycas
• Ginkgo
• Conifers
Species of Cycas

Cycas revoluta
Species of Ginkgo
Ginkgo biloba
- Is the only
species of the
group that
exists, is
considered a
living fossil.
- Is a tree
species with
deciduous
leaves.
- Is very
frequent in parks
and gardens
because its
Species of Conifers
Pinus pinea
Pino piñonero
Pine
Resins are obtained
from pine trees
Amber: hard
translucent
fossilized
resin
produced by
extinct
coniferous
trees (many
times
contain
insects
trapped by
the resin
before
fossilizing).

Amber
Ámbar
 Species of Conifers
Abies alba
Abeto
Silver fir

female cone different from pines

leaves less needle-like, not in clusters
Species of Conifers
Picea abies
Abeto rojo
Spruce
female cone different from pines
leaves less needle-like, not in clusters
Species of Conifers
Taxus baccata
Tejo
Yew
Species of Conifers

Cupressus sempervirens
Ciprés
Cypress

Common in gardens and

cemeteries (graveyards)
round female
cone

leaves or
needles are
scale like
Species of Conifers
Juniperus communis
Enebro
Juniper
pointy leaves that can prick you
GIN is produced with the cones (small and
round; are not fruits!!) of the juniper.
Species of Conifers

Sequoia sempervirens
Secuoya
Sequoia

Huge trees that:

- can reach nearly 100
m high.
- the trunk can be from
5 to 8 m in diameter.
- they can live
between 1000 and
3000 years long.
 ANGIOSPERMS
• The seed is protected in a fruit.
• Most are deciduous (without leaves in winter).
• They are grasses, shrubs and trees.
• Parts of the flowers:
– Usually have calyx (septals) and corolla
(petals).
– The reproductive organs:
■ unisexual flowers have only male or female
reproductive organs.
■ hermaphrodite flowers they have male and
female repr. organs in the same flower.
Parts of the angiosperms flower
 ANGIOSPERMS
• the male reproductive organ is called
stamen: formed by the anther* + the
filament.
*where pollen grains are produced.
(contain the male gametes)

• the female reproductive organ is called

carpel or pistil : formed by the stigma + the
style + the ovary**.
**where the ovules are produced.
(female gametes)
 ANGIOSPERMS
Have both anemophilous flowers (the POLLINATION happens
through wind) or entomophilous flowers (the POLLINATION
happens through insects).
Anemophilous flowers Entomophilous flowers
 ANGIOSPERMS
•After fecundation of the ovule (female gamete)
by the pollen grains (contain the male gametes):
– the ovule (inside the ovary) changes into the
zygote and later into the embryo of the new plant,
contained in the seed (in all flowering plants).
– and ALSO the ovary fattens,accumulating
nutritive substances, and changes into the fruit.
The ovary fattens and changes into the fruit
The fruit (is a structure that angiosperm plants have developed
through evolution):
- protects the seed
- helps to disseminate the seed: animals eat the fruit near the
plant, but defecate the seeds far away from the plant (then,
parents and descendants do not compete for resources like
space, water, light…)
So… for helping you remember that FRUITS are the
fattened OVARIES of the angiosperm plants…
Remember, when you are eating any fruit like
apples, cherries, plums, olives, blackberries...
YOU ARE EATING THE OVARY OF
THE PLANT! (because of the nutrients
accumulated in the walls of the ovary, of course)
 EXAMPLES of
species of angiosperm plants
Iris sp.
Lirio
Lily
Olea europaea

Olivo
Olive tree
Allium cepa
Cebolla
Onion
 Family Poaceae
Gramíneas
Grasses

Ear: espiga

CEREALS

Grasslands Economic importance

(praderas) in food production
Triticum
aestivus
Trigo
Wheat
Bread
Wheat flour
Zea mais
Maíz
Corn
Oryza sativa
Arroz
Rice
Hordeum vulgare
Cebada
Barley
BEER is produced with barley.
Secale cereale
Centeno
Rye
Rye bread Whisky
 Family Fabaceae

Legumbres
Legumes

Pod: vaina Economic importance

in food production
Vicia
faba
Haba
Broad bean
Phaseolus vulgaris

Alubias, judías,
habichuelas, frijoles
Beans
 Lenteja
Lens culinaris Lentils
Pisum sativum

Guisante
Peas
Cicer arietinum

Garbanzo
Chickpea
 Rosáceas
Family Rosaceae
Rose family
Economic
importance in
food production

Rosa canina

Rosa, escaramujo
Wild rose
Malus domestica

Manzano
Apple tree
Pyrus communis

Peral
Pear tree
Prunus armeniaca

Albaricoque
Apricot
Prunus persica

Melocotonero
Peach tree
Prunus domestica
Ciruelo
Plum tree
Prunus avium

Cerezo
Cherry tree
Prunus dulcis

Almendro
Almond tree
Rubus fruticosus

Zarzamora
Blackberry
plant
Rubus idaeus

Frambues
o
Raspberry
plant
 Cucurbitaceae
Family
Melon Watermelon

Cucumber
Pumpkin