What is a vascular plant?  They have vascular tissue = a transport system  Think back to that big tree. Plants are living. Just like you, they need water and food to survive. A plant that tall needs a way for water and food to reach all parts of it! = a need for a transport system!

Transport System = vascular bundle 1) Xylem – transports water from roots to the leaves (up) 2) Phloem – transports food in both directions (up and down)

Leaf Structure

Stomata ( opening ) Guard Cells (control stomata) Phloem ( transports food ) Xylem ( transports water ) Vascular Bundle (encloses xylem and phloem ) Cuticle (waxy covering to reduce water loss) Mesophyll (middle layer)

Stomata and Guard Cells  Stomata : small openings in the leaf that allow gas exchange and water to pass through  Guard cells - two cells that form stomata

Plant Responses (4)  Phototropism (to light)  Thigmotropism (to touch)  Gravitropism (to gravity)  Hydrotropism (to water)

Reproduction Let’s look at the parts of a flower:  Sepal – protects the bud while the flower develops  Petals – attract pollinators through either color or scent  Stamen – the male portion of the flower. It consists of the anther, which holds the pollen, and the filament, which holds the anther in the air. Pollen can be transmitted to the female part of the flower by pollinators.  Pistil – the female portion of the flower. It consists of the stigma, style, and ovary. The stigma is sticky in order to trap pollen that may fall on it. The style holds the stigma, and also contains a hollow pollen tube so that the sperm in the pollen can reach the eggs in the ovary. The ovary contains the ovules (egg.) When the eggs are fertilized, the seed develops in the ripening ovary. The ovary eventually becomes the fruit.  The flower’s entire purpose is to attract pollinators and to produce the seeds. Seeds can then be spread by animals eating the fruit the produce. In order for plant reproduction to occur, all plant systems must work together.

Interaction: Transport and Photosynthesis  At the leaves, photosynthesis happens in the chloroplast. Photosynthesis requires 1) water (taken in by the roots and transported through the stem to the leaves by the xylem ) 2) Light (absorbed by the leaves) 3) CO2 (taken in through the stomata – the pores on the surface of a leaf that are controlled by guard cells )  Photosynthesis produces glucose (food) and O2. The glucose is transported to the rest of the plant by the tissue phloem.

Interaction: Transport, Responses, and Reproduction  Transport plays a role in both plant responses and reproduction  Responses and reproduction both require hormones  The only way for the appropriate place on the plant to get those hormones is if they are transported there by the vascular tissues.  If the hormones don’t reach the area different things can happen ex. a fruit won’t ripen, the plant won’t grow towards the light etc.