Plant

• Roots:

  • The “mouth” of the plant
  • Most important part of a plant
  • How water and minerals get into the plant
  • Anchor the plant in place
  • Store sugars and carbohydrates that plant uses to carry out other functions
• Stem:

  • Takes over after root sends water and minerals into the plant
  • Special cells called phloem and xylem that move water and nutrients
  • Xylem moves water and minerals up to the leaves
  • Phloem moves the food (sugar) down to feed the plant
  • Provide support for the plant allowing the leaves to reach sunlight
  • Node is where leaves join the stem
  • Internode is the space between leaves and stem
• Leaves:

  • The food factory
  • Come in many different shapes and sizes
  • Simple Leaves: Blade connected by a petiole to the stem (e.g., Maple or Oak Leaf)
  • Complex Leaves: Made up of separate leaflets attached by a petiole to the stem (e.g., Ash or Locust)
  • Made to catch light and have openings to allow water and air to come and go
  • Outer layer has a waxy coating called a cuticle for protection
  • Veins carry water and nutrients within the leaf
  • Where water and minerals are converted into food for the plant through photosynthesis
• Flowers:

  • Important in making seeds
  • Fertilization is the process to make seeds
  • Petals attract pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and bats
• Why do Plants Adapt?

  • Protection: Thorns, Spikes, Poisonous Leaves
  • Reproduction: Flowers are colorful to attract insects and birds for seeds
  • Brightly colored fruits attract animals to spread seeds
  • Pollen easily attached to insects or carried by the wind
  • Climate and Location adaptations:
  • Bigger leaves in colder climates
  • Dormancy in colder winters
  • Adaptations in dry climates like spines, waxy coating, long root systems, succulents, and leafless plants
• The root system is the part of the plant that absorbs water, minerals, and nutrients from the soil.
• Lenticels are structures in plant bodies that produce secondary growth, which promote gas exchange of oxygen
• photosynthesis food making process in plants
• Gas exchange in stomata is the movement of gases in opposite directions through small pores on the surface of leaves
• Photosynthesis occurs in eukaryotic cell structures called chloroplast
• Guard cells are specialized plant cells in the epidermis of leaves, stems and other organs that are used to control gas exchange. It uses osmotic pressure to open and close stomata, allowing plants to regulate the amount of water and solutes within them
• Transpiration is the loss of water vapor from the surfaces of plants, primarily through their leaves, and can be influenced by factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and atmospheric pressure