109 terms

Terms	Definitions
Conifer	naked-seed plants that produce cones
Ovule	A structure that develops within the ovary of a seed plant and contains the female gametophyte.
Pollen Grain	Small structure produced by the male reproductive organs of a seed plant. Has a water-resistant coat, contains gametophyte parts that will produce sperm.
Sepal	a leaflike structure that encloses the bud of a flower
Petal	part of the flower that produces sweet smelling nectar and attracts pollinators
Stamen	The pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of an anther and a filament.
Anther	the part of the stamen that contains pollen
Carpel	The female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of the stigma, style, and ovary.
Ovary	a structure containing egg cells; the base of a pistil in a flower
Angiosperm	A flowering plant, which forms seeds inside a protective chamber called an ovary.
pollination	transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of a plant
Fertilization	creation by the physical union of male and female gametes
Fruit	the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant
Cotyledons	structure of seed plant embryo that stores or absorbs food for the developing plant
Monocot	angiosperm whose seeds have one cotyledon; parallel veins; fibrous root system
Dicot	flowering plant with two cotyledons;branched veins; taproot system
Root System	All of a plant's roots that anchor it in the soil, absorb and transport minerals and water, and store food.
Shoot System	The aerial portion of a plant body, consisting of stems, leaves, and (in angiosperms) flowers.
Stems	carry substances between roots and leaves; provide support for plant; holds leaves up to sunlight
Nodes	the points at which leaves are attached
Internodes	A segment of a plant stem between the points where leaves are attached.
Terminal Bud	Embryonic tissue at the tip of a shoot, made up of developing leaves and a compact series of nodes and internodes.
Axillary Bud	a structure that has the potential to form a lateral shoot, commonly called a branch
Apical Dominance	Concentration of growth at the tip of a plant shoot, where a terminal bud partially inhibits axillary bud growth.
Rhizomes	horizontal stems running underground
Tubers	the thick, fleshy parts of underground stems, such as potatoes
Parenchyma Cells	A relatively unspecialized plant cell type that carries out most of the metabolism, synthesizes and stores organic products, and develops into a more differntiated cell type.
Collenchyma Cells	A flexible plant cell type that occurs in strands or cylinders that support young parts of the plants without restraining growth.
Sclerenchyma Cells	protect seeds and support the plant
Fiber	One type of Sclerenchyma Cell; occurs in bundles
Sclereid	a type of sclerenchyma cell which is short and irregular in shape, giving hardness to nutshells and gritty texture to pears
Water-conducting cells	thick secondary cell walls, dead at maturity, make up the xylem
Tracheids	Specialized cells to conduct water, key cells in xylem.
Vessel Elements	tubular cells that transport water through the rest of the plant.
Sieve-tube Members	Cells in the phloem tissue that lack a nucleus, but are long and cylindrical for conducting sugar water.
Sieve Plates	An end wall in a sieve-tube member, which facilitates the flow of phloem sap in angiosperm sieve tubes.
Companion Cell	phloem cell that surrounds sieve tube elements
Xylem	the woody part of plants: the supporting and water-conducting tissue, consisting primarily of tracheids and vessels
Phloem	type of vascular tissue that carries nutrients and food from place to place inside the cell
Tissue System	Roots, stems, and leaves
Epidermis	an outer layer of cells designed to provide protection
Cuticle	A waxy covering on the surface of stems and leaves that acts as an adaptation to prevent desiccation in terrestrial plants.
Vascular Tissue System	A system formed by xylem and phloem throughout a vascular plant, serving as a transport system for water and nutrients, respectively.
Ground Tissue System	Plant tissues that are neither vascular nor dermal, fulfilling a variety of functions, such as storage, photosynthesis, and support.
Cortex	spongy layer of ground tissue just inside the epidermis of a root
Endodermis	The innermost layer of the cortex in plant roots; a cylinder one cell thick that forms the boundary between the cortex and the stele.
Vascular Bundles	plant stem structure that contains xylem and phloem tissue
Pith	soft spongelike central cylinder of the stems of most flowering plants
Stomata	Small openings on the underside of a leaf through which oxygen and carbon dioxide can move.
Guard Cells	cells that control the opening and closing of stomata
Mesophyll	The ground tissue of a leaf, sandwiched between the upper and lower epidermis and specialized for photosynthesis.
Vein	any of the vascular bundles or ribs that form the branching framework of conducting and supporting tissues in a leaf or other plant organ; composed of xylem and phloem
Indeterminate Growth	A type of growth characteristic of plants, in which the organism continues to grow as long as it lives.
Determinate Growth	growth that ceases after reaching a certain size
Meristem	undifferentiated tissue from which new cells are formed, as at the tip of a stem or root
Apical Meristem	group of undifferentiated cells that divide to produce increased length of stems and roots
Primary Growth	growth in plant length
Root Cap	a structure that covers the tip of a root, protecting the root from injury
Primary xylem	First water-conducting tissue of a plant
Primary Phloem	pushed outward by development of secondary phloem first sugar carrying tissue
Secondary Growth	pattern of plant growth in which stems increase in width
Vascular Cambium	A cylinder of meristematic tissue in woody plants that adds layers of secondary vascular tissue called secondary xylem (wood) and secondary phloem.
Wood	secondary xylem
Secondary Xylem	new xylem cells formed on the surface of the vascular cambium that faces the center of the stem
Secondary Phloem	tissue just outside vascular cambium that conducts sugar and will become cork cambium
Cork	outer tissue of bark
Cork Cambium	A cylinder of meristematic tissue in plants that produces cork cells to replace the epidermis during secondary growth
Bark	tough protective covering of the woody stems and roots of trees and other woody plants
wood Rays	Consist of Parenchyma cells that transport water to the outer living tissues in the trunk
Heartwood	Located in the center portion of a tree trunk, it consists of older layers of secondary xylem
Sapwood	area in plants that surrounds heartwood and is active in fluid transport
Stigma	the apical end of the style where deposited pollen enters the pistil
Sporophyte	The multicellular diploid form in organisms undergoing alternation of generations that results from a union of gametes and that meiotically produces haploid spores that grow into the gametophyte generation.
Gametophyte	the stage in the life cycle of a plant in which the plant produces gametes, or sex cells
Double Fertilization	A mechanism of fertilization in angiosperms, in which two sperm cells unite with two cells in the embryo sac to form the zygote and endosperm.
Embryo Sac	female gametophyte within the ovule of a flowering plant
Endosperm	nutritive tissue surrounding the embryo within seeds of flowering plants
Dormancy	period of time during which a plant embryo is alive but not growing
Simple Fruits	develop from a single ovary and at least one of the layer is fleshy and juicy (ex. peaches and tomatoes)
Aggregate Fruit	A fruit such as a blackberry that develops from a single flower that has several carpels.
Multiple Fruit	A fruit derived from an inflorescence, a group of flowers tightly clustered together.
Vegetative Reproduction	Type of reproduction in which new plants grow from vegetative parts such as roots, stems, and leaves
Fragmentation	A means of asexual reproduction whereby a single parent breaks into parts that regenerate into whole new individuals.
Protoplast Fusion	The fusing of two protoplasts from different plant species that would otherwise be reproductively incompatible.
Monocultures	large areas of land with a single plant variety
Casparian Strip	A water-impermeable ring of wax in the endodermal cells of plants that blocks the passive flow of water and solutes into the stele by way of cell walls.
Xylem Sap	water and dissolved minerals in the xylem
Root Pressure	The upward push of xylem sap in the vascular tissue of roots.
Transpiration	the emission of water vapor from the leaves of plants
Cohesion	Cohering water molecules in the xylem tubes which extend from leaves to the roots
Adhesion	Water molecules that tend to adhere to cellulose molecules in the walls of xylem cells
Transpiration-cohesion-tension mechanism	The process of water movement through a plant
Sugar Source	plant organ where sugar is produced
Sugar Sink	organ that is a net consumer or storer of sugar
Pressure-flow mechanism	process by which phloem sap moves through a plant
Phototropism	Plant growth in response to light; plants ten to grow in the direction of the light
Auxin	a plant hormone that promotes root formation and bud growth
Cytokinins	Stimulates cell division and growth of lateral buds. Causes dormant seeds to sprout.
Gibberellins	plant hormone that stimulates growth of stems
Abscisic Acid	A plant hormone that brings about dormancy in buds, mantains dormancy in seeds, and brings about stomatal closing
Ethylene	The only gaseous plant hormone, responsible for fruit ripening, growth inhibition, leaf abscission, and aging.
Tropisms	plant's responses to touch, gravity, and sunlight
Gravitropism	a change in the growth of a plant in response to gravity
thigmotropism	plant growth in response to touch
Circadian Rhythm	the biological clock; regular bodily rhythms that occur on a 24-hour cycle
Photoperiod	the response in animals and plants to the length of the day and night
Phytochromes	a pigment involved in many responses of plants to light.
Monocot	Phloem and Xylem scattered
Dicot	Phloem and Xylem in concentric cirles

Flickr Creative Commons Images

Some images used in this set are licensed under the Creative Commons through Flickr.com. Click to see the original works with their full license.

• "Monocot" image

This product uses the Flickr API but is not endorsed or certified by Flickr.