Introduction
Biology is the study of Life (Bios = life, logos=knowledge) Plant Biology or Botany is the part of Biology that studies plants. Ethnobotany (Ethno= man) is the part of plant Biology that studies the uses and relationships between man and plants.
Living things are classified into three domains: Archeae (old bacteria) Eubacteria (new bacteria) with nucleated cells. Eukarya: multicellular organisms with nucleated cells.
The domain Eukarya is classified into four kindgoms: Protista: Single cells organisms, including algae. Fungi: Includes mushrooms, mildews, yeasts and molds. Plantae: Multicellular autotroph organisms. Animalia: Multicellular heterotroph organisms.
Plant Structure
The basic morphology of plants reflects that plants draw resources from two very different environments: the soil and the air. Plants have evolved two systems: a subterranean root system to obtain water and minerals from the soil and an aerial shoot system of stems and leaves used to transform light into chemical energy (food).
The Root system anchors the plant in the soil, absorbs minerals and water, and stores food. The shoot systems consists of stems and leaves. And they may be vegetative (leaf bearing) or reproductive (flower bearing).
Plant Systematics and Classification
. Plants without true vascular tissue...bryophytes ytes (Mosses) '. Plants with vascular tissues (xylem and phloem)... B B. Plants without seeds...ferns and club mosses B'. Plants with seeds...c...c C. Plants without...gymnosperms (Conifers and Evergreens) flowers. C'. Flowering Plants... Angiosperms D. Magnoliopsida (DICOTS) D'. Liliopsida (MONOCOTS)
Kingdom Plantae Evolutionary tree of plants From primitive advanced traits Bryophytes Ferns Gymnosperms Angiosperms Flowers Green alga ancestor Vascular Seeds Terrestrial
A. Plants without true vascular tissue...bryophytes (Mosses) A'. Plants with vascular tissues (xylem and phloem)... B
Species of Sphagnum have been used for external medical treatment as wound dressings, a use that has been documented to have taken place since the ice ages and continued on a large scale well into the 20th century during both world wars. Dried Sphagnum is highly absorbent and, and it is wound-healing. The properties of Sphagnum holocellulose ( sphagnan, a kind of pectin), acts by immobilizing bacterial cells and depriving them of their nutrients. Decaying Sphagnum is also the major component of peat, which is "mined" for use as a fuel, as a horticultural soil additive, and in smoking malt in the production of Scotch whisky.
Arctic people used mosses for bedding. North American tribal people used mosses for basketry, bedding, wound dressing, diapers, and menstrual fluid absorption. Circumpolar and alpine people used mosses as insulation in boots and mittens. Tribes of northeastern United States and southeastern Canada used moss to fill chinks in wooden longhouses. Tribes of the Pacific Northwest in the US and Canada used mosses to clean salmon prior to drying, and packed wet moss into pit ovens for steaming camas bulbs. Food storage baskets and boiling baskets were also packed with mosses. All information above from Kimmerer, Robin Wall (2003). Gathering Moss
A'. Plants with vascular tissues (xylem and phloem)... B B. Plants without seeds..ferns and club mosses (Pteridophyta) B'. Plants with seeds...c
Edible Ferns: Some ferns are used for food, including the fiddleheads of bracken, Pteridium aquilinum, ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris, and cinnamon fern, Osmunda cinnamomea. The underground organs or Tubers from the King Fern or para (Ptisana salicina) are a traditional food in New Zealand and the South Pacific. Fern tubers were also used for food 30,000 years ago in Europe. Still practiced in the Canary Island where they used ground Fern tubers to make gofio (type of bread)
Many ferns are grown in horticulture as landscape plants, for cut foliage,, for the florist s s market and as houseplants. Examples: Boston fern (Nephrolepis exaltata), and the Florist Fern (Rumohra adiantiformis). Bird's Nest Fern (Asplenium nidus) ) is also popular as a house plant. Ferns have been studied and found to be useful in the removal of heavy metals, especially arsenic, from the soil. Dryopteris filix-mas (male fern), The root was used, until recent times, as an anthelmintic to expel tapeworms,, but no any longer. The anthelmintic activity has been claimed to be due to flavaspidic acid. The plant is sometimes referred to in ancient literature as Worm Fern.
B'. Plants with seeds...c C. Plants without flowers...gymnosperms (Conifers and Evergreens)
There are between 700 and 900 species of gymnosperms Gymnosperms have major economic uses. Pine, fir, spruce, and cedar are all examples of conifers that are used for lumber. Gymnosperms are the source of many useful oils which are extracted for soaps and disinfectants. They also have many medicinal uses, including taxol from Yews, which is used in treating ovarian cancer. Gymnosperms are also very important ecologically as they provide food and shelter for numerous animals and insects. Gymnosperms prevent soil erosion in forests and are important in the fight against climate change as they help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Some other common uses for gymnosperms are soap, varnish, nail polish,, paints, and perfumes.
C'. Flowering Plants... Angiosperms (Anthophyta( Anthophyta) D. Magnoliopsida (DICOTS) D'. Liliopsida (MONOCOTS) With about 250,000 known species, the angiosperms are by far the most diverse and widespread group of land plants. As primary producers, flowering plants are at the base of the food web of nearly every terrestrial ecosystem. Most land animals, including humans, depend on plants directly or indirectly for sustenance.
Monocot vs. dicot Angiosperms are divided into monocots and dicots As the zygote grows into the embryo, the first leaves of the young body develop and are referred as cotyledons (seed leaves) Monocots have one cotyledon; include corn, lily, etc. Dicots have two cotyledons; bean oak, etc.
Monocot vs. dicot Number of cotyledons: one vs. two
Monocot vs. dicot Leaf venation pattern: Monocot is parallel Dicot is net pattern
Monocot vs. dicot Monocot: Fibrous root Dicot: : Tap root
Flower parts: Monocot vs. dicot Monocot: in groups of three Dicot: : in groups of four or five
Monocot vs. dicot Vascular bundle position Monocot: scattered Dicot: : arranged in a circle
Monocot vs. dicot Stem type: Monocot: Herbaceous Dicot: : herbaceous or woody
Summary: Monocot vs. dicot
Comparing monocot vs. dicot FEATURE Cotyledons Leaf venation Root system Number of floral parts Vascular bundle position Woody or herbaceous plants MONOCOTS 1 parallel Fibrous In 3 s3 Scattered Herbaceous DICOTS 2 broad Tap In 4 s 4 s or 5 s 5 Arranged in a circle Either
What is a species? Species: a set of individuals that are closely related by descent from a common ancestor and ordinarily can reproduce with each other, but not with members of any other species. Biological species: : group of interbreeding populations. Offspring are fertile.
Species name Each species has a single correct scientific name in Latin called a binomial (two names) it is always italicized or underlined. First name is genus name. Second name is species name Human: Homo sapiens Cat: Felis catus Dog: Canis familiaris Wolf: Canis lupus
Examples Genus of maple trees is Acer It has many species including: Common name Red maple Sugar maple Black maple Scientific name Acer rubrum Acer saccharum Acer nigrum
Taxonomic hierarchy Species that have many characteristics in common are grouped into a genus. Related genera that share combinations of traits are grouped into families. Families are grouped into orders. Orders into classes Classes into divisions (or phyla for animals) Related divisions/phyla are grouped into kingdoms (e.g. house, street, city, county, state, country, continent, planet)