chapt1bio

• Botany, derived from "botane" meaning "pasture" or "grass," is the scientific study of plants, encompassing their structure, growth, classification, and factors influencing their development
• Ancient knowledge in botany includes Aristotle, known as the "Founder of Plant Science," who believed plant life is lower and less specialized than animal life, and Theophrastus, the "Father of Plant Science," who authored works like "History of Plants" and "Causes of Plants"
• Plants are multicellular living organisms that vary in lifespan, color, and adaptation to habitats, with forms like trees, vines, weeds, grass, conifers, cacti, herbs, and green algae
• Seed plants, also known as Spermatophytes, are divided into Gymnospermae (seed plants without flowers) like pine trees, and Angiospermae (flowering seed plants) like mango trees and tomatoes
• Flowering plants are categorized into Dicotyledon (dicots) with broad leaves and netted venation, and Monocotyledon (monocots) with long, narrow leaves and parallel veins
• Seedless vascular plants like ferns reproduce using spores, while nonvascular plants like moss lack roots, stems, and leaves, reproducing with spores and requiring a moist habitat
• Parts of a plant include leaves, stems, and roots, with leaves having structures like blade, midrib, veins, petiole, and stipules, and stems conducting water, minerals, and food, and storing food
• Modified stems like bulbs, cloves, tubers, rhizomes, and runners serve various functions in plants, aiding in storage, reproduction, and food production
• Roots, essential for water absorption, anchoring, and nutrient storage, come in types like tap roots, fibrous roots, adventitious roots, aerating roots, and buttress roots
• Flowers, the reproductive structures in flowering plants, consist of parts like stamen (anther and filament) and pistil/carpel (stigma, style, and ovary), with additional parts like petals, sepals, and receptacle
• Pollination is the transfer of pollen grain from stamen to stigma, brought about by different pollinators
• There are 2 types of pollination:

  1. Self pollination

  2. Cross pollination
• Agents of pollination include insects, wind, man, animals, and water
• A fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants, found only in the members of the Angiosperms
• Types of fruits:

  • Simple Fruit: develops from a single ovary of one or more carpels
  • Aggregate Fruit: develops from multiple ovaries but of the same flower, consisting of a collection of simple fruits called fruitlets
  • Multiple Fruit: develops from ovaries of several flowers fused together on the same stalk
• A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called seed coat, usually with stored food, completing the process of reproduction in seed plants
• Advantages of seeds for plants:

  1. Maintain dormancy until better environmental conditions arise

  2. Afford protection to young plant at vulnerable developmental stage

  3. Contain adequate supply until photosynthesis is possible

  4. Enable dispersal of plants
• Photosynthesis is the process where plants utilize water, carbon dioxide, and sunlight to produce glucose
• Transpiration is the process in which water evaporates from the leaves of plants, keeping cells turgid, cooling leaf surfaces, and aiding in mineral movement
• Types of transpiration:

  1. Stomatal Transpiration

  2. Cuticular Transpiration

  3. Lenticular Transpiration
• Tropism is a biological phenomenon indicating growth or turning movement of a plant in response to an environmental stimulus
• Types of tropism:

  • Phototropism
  • Geotropism
  • Thigmotropism
  • Hydrotropism
  • Chemotropism
• Plant nutrition refers to the supply and absorption of chemical compounds for the growth and metabolism of plants, known as plant nutrients or essential elements
• Plant hormones play a crucial role in plant defense against pathogenic microorganisms and regulate development and signal networks in plants
• Types of plant hormones and their functions:

  • Auxin: promotes stem elongation, maintains apical dominance, and causes phototropism
  • Gibberellins: promote stem elongation, fruit enlargement, flowering, and more
  • Cytokinin: promotes cell division and branching
  • Ethylene: ripens fruits and causes abscission
  • Abscisic Acid: causes leaf detachment, induces dormancy, and stress responses
• Parthenocarpy produces seedless fruit without fertilization, introduced with plant hormones like gibberellins, allowing growers to prevent insect pests without chemicals