Family Relationships

Monocot Characteristics: Corn(Layla)

• A flowering plant having one cotyledon or seed-leaf in the embryo
• In monocot plants, the first shoot that emerges from the ground or from the seed is the epicotyl, from which the first shoots and leaves emerge.
• The radicle aborts, and new roots arise
• Have parallel leaf vine pattern
• Vascular Tissue scattered
• There is no main root
• Pollen grain with one opening
• Floral organs usually in multiples of three

Related Species: orchids, palms, and grain crops: maize, wheat, rice

Dicot Characteristics: Bean(Tommy)

• Has two seed leaves (cotyledons)
• In dicots, the hypocotyl is what appears to be the base stem under the spent withered cotyledons, and the shoot just above that is the epicotyl
• Roots grow from the radical and apical meristem
• Have netlike vein patterns
• Vascular Tissue usually arranged in a ring
• Taproot which is the main root is usually present
• Pollen grain with three openings
• Floral organs usually in multiples of four or five

Related Species: roses, peas, sunflowers and maples.

Reproduction

Stamen: The pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of an anther and a filament
Filament: The stalk portion of the stamen
Anther: the terminal pollen sac of a stamen, where pollen grains containing sperm-producing male gametophytes form
Carpel: The ovule-producing reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of the stigma, style, and ovary
Stigma: The sticky part of a flowers carpel, which receives pollen grains
Style: The stalk of a flowers carpel, with the ovary at the base and the stigma at the top
Ovary: The portion of a carpel in which the egg-containing ovules develop
Petal: A modified leaf of a flowering plant. Petals are the often colorful parts of the flower that advertise it to insects and other pollinators
Sepals: A modified leaf that helps enclose and protect a flower bud before it opens
Pollen: The fertilizing element of flowering plants, consisting of fine, powdery, yellowish grains or spores, sometimes in masses
Ovule: A structure that developes within the ovary of a seed plant that contains the female gametophyte
Double Fertilization: A mechanism of fertilization in angiosperms in which two sperm cells unite with two cells in the female gametophyte to form the zygote and endosperm

Steps of Reproduction:

• the pollen lands on stigma,
• the pollen tube grows to ovary,
• the egg is fertilized,
• the seed forms after fertilization,
• then when the seed is ready, the seed is spreaded,
• and then the seed lands somewhere and germinates and starts all over!

Life Cycle of Plants--Alternation of Generations

Alternation of Generations: A life cycle in which there is both a multicellular diploid form, the sporophyte, and a multicellular haploid form, the gametophyte.

Sporophyte: the multicellular diploid form that results from the union of gametes.The sporophyte produces haploid spores by meiosis that develop into gametes

Gametophyte: the multicellular haploid form that produces haploid gametes by mitosis. The haploid gametes unite and develop into sporophytes.

The gametophyte produces haploid gametes by mitosis, then two gametes unite and form a diploid zygote by fertilization. The zygote developes into a multicellular dipoloid sporophyte and then that sporophyte produces haploid spores by meiosis. Then the spores develop into multicellular haploid gametophytes.This cycle, from gametophyte to gametophyte, is the way in which all land plants and many algae undergo sexual reproduction. 

Nutrient and Water Delivery/ Food Delivery

Nutrient and Water Delivery

I watered my babies about every 5 days or so. I wouldn't let them get too dry and i wouldn't let them get too wet.

 Six Terms and Two RolesThat Have to do with Nutrient and Water Delivery:

• Transpiration: The evaporated loss of water from a plant. During transpiration the water flows from the roots through the stem and out of the plant. So you must keep fresh water in your plants because it will evaporate.
• Turgor Pressure: The force directed against a plant cell wall after the influx of water and swelling of the cell due to osmosis
• Vascular Tissue: Plant tissue consisting of cells joined into tubes that transport water and nutrients throughout the plant body. This definitely helps the plant with nutrients and water delivery because it flows all throughout the plant.
• Xylem: Vascular plant tissue that consisting mainly of tubular dead cells that conduct most of the water and minerals upward from the roots to the rest of the plant.It does this by the help of transpiration
• Stomata:  One of the tiny openings in the epidermis of a plant, through which gases and water vapor pass. Stomata permit the absorption of carbon dioxide necessary for photosynthesis from the air, as well as the removal of excess oxygen.
• Guard Cells: The two cells that flank the stomatal pore and regulate the opening and closing of the pore. It knows when to let different air or water vapor out and when to save it.
• How soil contributes to plant growth: Soil contributes to plant growth by nutriens within the soil, the pH balance, water and anchoring. The pH balance help germinate the seed. The soil helps absorb and provide water and nutrients. Also it helps to anchor the plants so they can grow healthy.
• Role of The Casparian Strip: The casparian strip is a water- impermeable ring of wax in the endodermal cells of plants that blocks the passive flow of water and solutes into the stele by way of cell walls.

Food Delivery

Translocation: the conduction of soluble food material from one part of a plant to another.

Phloem: Vascular plant tissue consisting of living celles arranged into elongated tubes that transport sugar and other organic nutrients throughout the plant

Bean
Tommy
First Major Roots. Roots help with the food, water, and nutrient delivery!

Corn
Layla
First Major Roots. Roots help with the food, water, and nutrient delivery!

From a seed to a plant just like that! They are growing so fast!

Bean
Tommy Getting Bigger and Bigger! Showing his terminal bud, nodes, codyledon, and first leaves:)

Bean
Getting Bigger! Tommy is getting fuller and more developed by the day!

Bean
Almost full grown Tommy! He is so big I am so proud to call him mine!

Corn
Here is Layla growing big! Showing off her first leaves!

Corn
Layla is just geting taller and taller! My baby corn is growing up!

Corn
Here is Layla almost full grown! She is just too beautiful!

Growth

Growth from start to finish:



Corn
First Sprout!

Corn
Almost Fully Grown!

Bean
First Sprout!



Bean
Almost Fully Grown!

Meristem: plant tissue that remains embryonic  asa long as the plant lives, allowing for indeterminate growth
Primary Growth: growth produced by apical meristems, lengthening stems and roots

Secondary Growth: growth produced by lateralmeristems, thickening the shoots and roots of woody plants

Vascular Cambium: a cylinder of meristematic tissue in woody plants that adds layers of secondary vascular tissue called secondary xylem and secondary phloem

Cork Cambium: a cylinder of meristematic tissue in woody plants that replaces the epidermis with thicker, tougher cork cells

Hormones Involved:

• Auxin: A term that primarily refers to indoleacetic acid, a natural plant hormone that has a variety of effects, including cell elongation, root formation, secondary growth, and fruit growth
• Cytokinin: Any of a class of related plant hormones that retard aging and act in concert with auxin to stimulate cell division, influence the pathway of differentiation, and control apical dominance
• ABA (Abscisic Acid): A plant hormone that slows growth, often antagonizing the actions of growth hormones. Two of its many effects are to promote seed dormancy ans facilitate drought tolerance
• Gibberelin: Any of a class of related plant hormones that stimulate growth in the stem and leaves, trigger the germination of seeds and breaking of bud dormancy, and stimulate fruit development

Tropism: A growth response that results in the curvature of whole plant organs toward or away from stimuli due to differential tares of cell elongation

Young Plant Structure and Function

Root Hairs: A hairlike outgrowth of a plant root that absorbs water and minerals from the soil. Root hairs are tubular extentions of the epidermis that greatly increase the surface area of the root.
Node: a part of the stem that bears a leaf.
Internode: the part inbetween two nodes.
Primary Root: the first root produced by a germinating seed, developing from the radicle of the embryo.
Lateral Root: Roots that extend horizontaly from the primary root and serves as support to hold the plant securely in the soil.
Leaf: one of the expanded, green organs produced by the stem of a plant and any similar or corresponding lateral outgrowth of a stem. The main photosynthetic organ of vascular plants.
Tap Root: a main vertical root that develops from embryonic root and gives rise to lateral roots. Only in beans because the monocots do not have a main root.
Cuticle: A waxy covering on the surface of stems ans leaves that prevents desiccation in terrestrial plants
Dermal Tissue system: The outer protective covering of plants.
Cotyledon: A seed leaf of an angiosperm embryo. Some have one cotyledon some have two.
Coleoptile: the covering of the young shoot of the embryo
Bud: a small axillary or terminal protuberance on a plant, an undeveloped or rudimentary stem or branch of a plant. 
Terminal Bud: dominant bud

Bean
Lateral Root and Stem of Tommy

Bean
Cotyledon of Tommy
He is growing up so fast!!

Bean
Bud of Tommy
I am so proud of my little baby bean! He is growing so fast!

Corn
Lateral Root of Layla

Corn
Starting Stem of My Beautiful Baby Girl Layla!

Germination

Whether it is a bean seed or a corn seed germination requires a few things. It requires water/imbibition, oxygen, temperature/sunlight, soil and a nice, loving parent:)

Germination: the sprouting of the seed. The seed swells from intake of water, and the outer coat begins to soften. After the coat breaks, the radicle appears and grows downward due to gravity.

Water/Imbibition: Water is required for germination. Water allows the outer shell of the seed to soften and break for the seed to take root and grow. This process is called imbibition. Mature seeds are often extremely dry and need to take in significant amounts of water.

Oxygen: is required by the germinating seed for metabolism. Oxygen is used in aerobic respiration, the main source of the seedling's energy until it grows leaves.

Temperature/Sunlight: affects growth rates. Seeds from different species and even seeds from the same plant germinate over a wide range of temperatures. If it is too cold it will freeze, and if it is too hot it will whither. Also with sunlight, some seeds germinate better without sunlight and some germinate better with sunlight. The perfect temperature and the perfect lighting is definitely very important for germination.

Soil: The pH of the soil can make a  difference in the germinating seed.The pH of the soil helps with the softening of the outter shell so the root can grow.

Two factors that need to be taken into consideration when expecting a seed to germinate:

Dormancy period: A seed requires to undergo a period of dormancy after its formation. During this period the seed 'rests' and may refuse to germinate properly. This period varies from seed to seed.

Viability period: After the resting period a seed bcomes ready to germinate. But this readiness is not for ever. The seed can possibly "expire" after a certain period. After that, the seed will not germinate.

Seed Structure and Function

Lets start off by showing off the structure and function of my cute babies Layla(corn) and Tommy(bean).

 

Corn(Layla): The endosperm of a monocot corn seed stores the food, which in this instance it is starch.The cotyledon of the corn seed is located above the embryo and it digests the food from the endosperm and feeds it to the develpoing embryo which is at the bottom peak of the seed and is the actual seed before germination.The codyledon will eventually become the leaves of the developed plant. The epicotyl, hypocotyl, and the radicle are all within the embryo. The Epicotyl is the stem above the cotyledon and will become the stem and leaves. The hypocotyl will develope into the lower stem under the cotyledon. And the radicle will become the root of the developing plant.

Bean(Tommy): The endosperm or cotyledon of a dicot bean seed stores the food, which in this instance it is starch, just like the corn seed.The cotyledon of the bean seed is located twice, unlike the corn seed. It is pretty much located all around the inside of the seed and does the job of both the cotyledon and the endosperm. The codyledon will eventually become the leaves of the developed plant. The embryo is near the top and is the seed before it is developed.The epicotyl, hypocotyl, and the radicle are all within the embryo. The Epicotyl is the stem above the cotyledon and will become the stem and leaves. The hypocotyl will develope into the lower stem under the cotyledon. And the radicle will become the root of the developing plant.