Plant Characteristics

Why are plants important? They provide: Oxygen Shelter Medicines Clothes Food

4 characteristics of plants Photosynthesis Cell Wall Cuticle Reproduction

Photosynthesis The process by which plants make food Chloroplast in their cells captures the energy from the sunlight 6CO2 + 6H2O + Sunlight C6H12O6 + 6O2

Cell Wall Provides support and protection for the plant cell Formed from Carbohydrates and Proteins Some form a secondary cell wall that stops them from growing

Cuticle A waxy layer that coats most of the surfaces of plants Keeps the plant from drying out.

Reproduction 2 Stages – Sporophyte and gametophyte Sporophyte – Plants produce spores. These spores grow into a gametophyte in suitable conditions Gametophyte – Plants produce sex cells (sperm and egg) The sperm must fertilize the egg The fertilized egg then grows into a sporophyte

2 Groups of plants Nonvascular Vascular

Nonvascular No specialized tissues to move water and nutrients Depend on diffusion to move materials Stay small due to the lack of specialized tissue Examples are mosses, liverworts and hornworts Mosses Liverworts Hornworts

Vascular plants Have specialized tissue to move materials (water and nutrients) Can grow to be very large Divided into three groups Seedless – examples are ferns, horsetails and club mosses Angiosperms – also known as flowering seed plants Gymnosperms – also known as nonflowering seed plants 2 ways the seeds of angiosperms and gymnosperms are spread: Animals and wind

Seedless Vascular plants Ferns Horsetails Club Mosses

Angiosperms

Gymnosperms