Intro to deep time

• plants are multicelluar, terrestrial and photosynthetic
• Plant physiology is the study of the function of plants and their parts.
• • Physiology examples: Gas exchange from stomata.
• Physiology examples

  Gas exchange in stomata

  energy assimilation in photosynthetic tissue

  nutrient transport through the vascular tissue

  perception of light through receptors
• Important plant nutrient:H2O K CO2 Mg P N and trace nutrient
• Plants respond to stimuli via growth (meristem)
• Built in stress responses

  Shedding the whole organ (autumn)

  seed dormancy

  vegetative growth
• Phloem: the vascular tissue in plants which conducts sugars and other metabolic products downwards from the leaves.
• sclerenchyma: thick, tough, and strong cell walls, found in woody plants
• parenchyma cells are the main cells in the leaf and are responsible for photosynthesis
• Plants are persistent over deep time
• Persistence over deep time due to

  Hybridize, polyploidy,asexual reproduction,persistence of propagates
• Polyploidy means having multiple copies of a chromosome. This is atypical and harmful in animals. This can increase specialisation
• Bracken inhibits germination
• Plants are able to survive the mass extinctions. They are able to evolve rapidly.
• Angiosperms: flowering plants
• Types of fossils

  Impressions - Material decays, Morphology

  Compression- Material preserved and distorted, cuticle can contain DNA
• Preserved cuticle has cell level detail and chemical detail. Shows atmospheric conditions in deep time
• Permineralisation is the process of replacing the organic material in the soil with minerals
• Permineralisation preserves 3D cellular detail.
• Carboniferous swamp forests produced coal
• Meristem: a region of plant tissue, found chiefly at the growing tips of roots and shoots and in the cambium, consisting of actively dividing cells forming new tissue
• Chemotaxonomy: Taxonomy, especially that of plants, based on comparative chemical analysis.
• Chemotaxonimy can pe performed on sporopollenin and cuticle from compressions.
• palynology: the study of pollen grains and other spores, especially as found in archaeological or geological deposits. Pollen extracted from such deposits may be used for radiocarbon dating and for studying past climates and environments by identifying plants then growing.