PBS 1101 Lecture Notes (Nov.

29, 2021)
Leaves – highly efficient form of solar panel in plants that captured sun’s energy long before modern civilization
realized that fossil-fuel would eventually be exhausted.

- All leaves originate as primordial in buds. A leaf primordium may consist fewer than 200 cells in early
spring. Hormones are produced to stimulate the cells to divide in response to exchanges in temperature,
day length, and availability of water.
PARTS OF THE LEAF At maturity:
o Petiole: stalk
o Flattened blade or lamina: network of veins (vascular bundles) o Stipule: pair of leaf-like,
scale-like, or thorn-like appendages.
o Sessile: leaves that lack petiole have this.
• Leaves of deciduous trees normally live through only one growing season, and even those of
evergreen trees rarely function for more than 2-7 yrs.
• Leaves of flowering plants are associated with leaf gaps, and all have axillary bud at the base.

TYPES OF LEAVES

 Simple Leaf o Has a single blade o Presence of a single

lamina
o Incisions do not touch the midrib
 Compound Leaf
o Divided in various ways into leaflets
o Regardless of the number of leaflets, a compound leaf still has a single axillary bud at its base
with the leaflets having no such buds. Types of Compound Leaf
 Pinnately compound- have the leaflets in pairs along an extension of the petiole called the
rachis.
 Palmately Compound- leaves have all the leaflets attached to the same point at the end of
the petiole.
 Bipinnately Compound- leaflets of pinnately compound leaf may be subdivided into still
smaller leaflets.

PHOTOSYNTHESIS – green leaves capture light energy to chemical energy. This involves trapping and ultimate
storing of energy in sugar molecules that are constructed from ordinary water and from carbon dioxide present
in the atmosphere.

STOMATA – found in the lower surfaces of leaves that are dotted with tiny pores which not only allow entry for
the carbon dioxide gas needed for photosynthesis but also plays a role in diffusion of the leaf of oxygen produced
during photosynthesis.
 Stomata apparatus, which consists of a pore bordered by a pair of sausage-shaped guard cells, controls
water loss when the guard cells inflate or deflate, opening or closing the pore.

Leaves also function in respiration and in this process as well as in other metabolic activities they produce waste
products.
HYDATHODES – special openings in some plants that are at the tips of leaf veins.

ROOT PRESSURE – forces liquid water out of the hydathodes, usually at night when transpiration is not
occurring.
GUTTATION – loss of water through hydathodes.

Types of Leaves and Leaf Arrangements

 buckeye – palmately compound leaf

 dogwood – opposite, simple leaves
 black walnut – pinnately compound leaf
 tulip tree – alternate, simple but lobed leaves
 grass – parallel-veined leaf
 maple – palmately veined leaf
 bedstraw – whorled leaves
 oak – pinnately veined, lobed leaf
 yew – linear leaves
 string of pearls – globe-shaped succulent leaves
 ginkgo tree – fan-shaped leaf, showing dichotomous venation
NODES – where leaves attach

INTERNODES – regions between nodes

PHYLLOTAXY
- arrangement of leaves on a stem
 Alternate arrangement – attached alternately or in a spiral along a stem with one leaf per node.
 Opposite arrangement – two leaves attached at each node.
 Whorled – three or more leaves occur at a node

VENATION – arrangement of veins in a leaf or leaflet blade

 pinnately veined: one primary vein called the midvein which is included in a large midrib; secondary
vein branch from the midvein.
 palmately veined: several primary veins fan out of the base of the blade. They are more or less
parallel to one another in monocots and diverge from one another in dicots.
 The branching arrangement of veins in dicots is called netted or reticulate venation.
 In a few leaves (e.g. Ginkgo), no midvein or other large veins are present. Instead, they have
dichotomous venation (veins fork evenly and progressively from the base of the blade to the opposite
margin).
 Arcuate – secondary veins bending
toward apex
 Cross-Venulate – small veins connecting
secondary veins
 Dichotomous – veins branching
symmetrically in pairs
 Longitudinal – veins aligned mostly along
long axis of leaf
 Palmate – several primary veins diverging
from a point
 Parallel – veins arranged axially, not
intersecting
 Pinnate – secondary veins paired
oppositely
 Reticulate – smaller veins forming a
network
 Rotate – in peltate leaves, veins radiating
Internal Structure of Leaves

 The blade is covered by an upper and

lower epidermis.
 The photosynthetic tissues, called
mesophyll, is often arranged into palisade
and spongy layers.
 Veins branch throughout the mesophyll.
 Epidermis – single layer of cells covering
the entire surface of the leaf.
 The lower surface of the blade can be
distinguished from the upper epidermis
by the presence of tiny pores called
stomata.
 Wavy, undulating walls of epidermal cells often resemble pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fitted together.
Except for guard cells , the upper epidermal cells for the most part do not contain chloroplasts, they
function only in protecting delicate tissues to the interior.
CUTIN – waxy coating that is normally present although it may not be visible with ordinary light microscopes
without being specially stained.

GLANDS – diferent types of these may be present in the epidermis. They occur in the form of depressions,
protuberances, or appendages either directly on the leaf surface or on the ends of the hairs. They often secrete
sticky substances.

STOMATA – perforates the lower epidermis

Corn and alfalfa: stomata on both leaf surfaces.
Water lilies: exclusively on the upper epidermis.
Submerged aquatic plants: absent.
Sunflower: 2 million of these throughout its epidermis.

GUARD CELLS
– Two sausage- or dumbbell-shaped cells that are smaller than most of the neighboring epidermal cells.
– Originate from the same parental cell.
– Part of the epidermis but unlike most of the other cells of the epidermis, they contain chloroplast.
Function:
 Regulate gas exchange between the interior of the leaf and the atmosphere.
 Regulate evaporation of water entering the plant at the roots.
 Guard cell walls are thickened but quite flexible on the side adjacent to the pore.
 As the guard cells inflate or deflate with changes in the amount of water within the cells, their unique
construction causes the stomata to open or close.
o Inflate: stomata are open.
o Deflate: stomata are close; water in the guard cells decreases.
MESOPHYLL – where most of photosynthesis occurs. Located between two epidermal layers.
 Palisade Mesophyll – uppermost, compactly stacked, barrel-shaped, post-shaped parenchyma cells that
are commonly in two rows.
 Spongy Mesophyll – lower, loosely arranged parenchyma cells with abundant air between them,
contains numerous chloroplasts.

CHLORENCHYMA TISSUE – parenchyma tissue with chloroplast

– found in the outer parts of the stems of herbaceous plants as well as in leaves.
– inside the leaf, surfaces of mesophyll cells in contact with the air is moist.
– If moisture level below a certain point, stomata closes - reducing further dying.

VEINS (VASCULAR BUNDLES)

- Scattered throughout the mesophyll.
- Consist of xylem and phloem tissues surrounded by a bundle sheath (packet of thicker-walled
parenchyma cells).
- Gives the leaf its “skeleton.”
- Phloem transports sugars and other carbs throughout the plant while xylem transports water.
- Dicots: veins run in all directions
- Monocots: parallel veins, do not have the mesophyll differentiated into palisade and spongy layers.
- Some (grasses) have large, thin-walled bulliform cells on either side of the midrib (main central vein)
toward the upper surface.
- Under dry conditions, bulliform cells partly collapse causing the leaf blade to fold or roll-reduces
transpiration.

SHADE LEAVES
- Receive less total light needed for photosynthesis.
- Tend to be larger than their counterparts in the sun.
- Thinner and have fewer well-defined mesophyll layers and fewer chloroplasts.
- Do not have as many hairs.

LEAVES OF ARID REGIONS

- Limited availability of water, wide temperature ranges, high light intensities developed adaptations of
plants to allow them to thrive.
- Many have thick, leathery leaves and fewer stomata, or stomata are sunken below the surface in special
depressions- reduce water loss through transpiration.
- May have succulent, water-retaining leaves or no leaves at all (stems function in photosynthesis) or they
may have dense, hairy coverings.
- Modifications: sunken stomata, thick cuticle and a layer of thick-walled cells (Hypodermis) beneath the
epidermis.

LEAVES OF AQUATIC AREAS

- Submerged leaves of plants that grow in water usually have considerably less xylem than phloem, and
the mesophyll, not differentiated into palisade and spongy layers, has large air space.
TENDRILS
- Help the plant in climbing or in supporting weak stems when curled tightly around more rigid objects.

HEALTHY TENDRILS
- Sudden, rapid growth of cells on the opposite side and starts curling in the direction of contact within a
minute or two when you lightly stroke it.
- If contact is very brief, tendril reverses movement and straightens out again.
- If tendril encounters a suitable solid support (e.g. twig) stimulation is continuous, tendrils coil tightly
around the support as it grows.
➢ Members of the Pumpkin Family (Cucurbitaceae) – squashes, melons and cucumbers produce tendrils
that may be up to 3 decimeters (1 ft.) long.
➢ As the tendrils develop, they become coiled like a spring.
➢ Direction of the coil reverses; sclerenchyma and collenchyma cells that develop in the vicinity of contact.
o Sclerenchyma cells: provide rigid support o Collenchyma cells: impart flexibility
o Makes very strong but flexible attachment that protects the plant from damage
during high winds

SPINES, THORNS, AND PRICKLES

- Leaves of many cacti and other desert plants-spines.
- Reduces water loss.
- Protect the plant from browsing animals.
- Photosynthesis occurs in green stems.
- Most are modifications of the whole leaf, much of the normal leaf tissue is replaced with sclerenchyma.
- Woody plants-stipules at the bases of the leaves that are modified as the short, paired spines.
Thorns: spinelike objects arising in the axils of leaves of woody plants are modified stems rather than
modified leaves.
Prickles: e.g. roses and raspberries, neither leaves nor stems, outgrowths from the epidermis of the cortex.

STORAGE LEAVES – large, thin-walled parenchyma cells without chloroplasts to the interior or chlorenchyma
tissue just beneath the epidermis. Non-photosynthetic cells contain large vacuoles that can store relatively
substantial amounts of water.
- Fleshy leaves of onion, lily and other bulbs store large amount of carbohydrates, used during rapid
growth early in subsequent growing season.

FLOWER-POT LEAVES
- Dischidia, an epiphyte from Australasia, develop into urn-like pouches that become the home of ant
colonies.
- Ants carry in soil and add nitrogenous wastes, while moisture collects in the leaves through condensation
of the water vapor coming from the mesophyll through stomata- good growing medium for roots.
WINDOW LEAVES
- Carpetweed Family- ice-cream cone-shaped leaves that are about 3.75 cm and are buried in the sand;
only a dime sized wide end of the leaf is exposed at the surface- covered with a relatively transparent,
thick epidermis with a few stomata waxy cuticle.
- There is a mass of tightly-packed, transparent water-storage cells below the exposed end; these allow
light coming through the “windows” to penetrate to the chloroplasts in the mesophyll.
- Most of the plant buried and away from drying winds, allow the plant to thrive under circumstances that
most other plants could not tolerate.

REPRODUCTIVE LEAVES
- The succulent leaves of air plants have little notches along the leaf margins in which tiny plantlets are
produced, complete with roots and leaves, even after a leaf has been removed from the parent plant.

FLORAL LEAVES (BRACTS)

- Found at the bases of flowers or flower stalks.
- In the Christmas flower (poinsettia), flowers themselves have no petals, but the brightly colored floral
bracts that surround the small flowers function as petals in attracting pollinators.
- In dogwoods and few other plants, tiny flowers in their buttonlike clusters do not have inconspicuous
petals.
- In Clary’s annual sage (Salvia vindis) large colorful bracts are produced at the top of flowering stalks, well
above the flowers.

INSECT- TRAPPING LEAVES

- Almost 200 species of flowering plants are known to have these leaves.
- Insectivorous plants grow in swampy areas and bogs of tropical and temperate regions. Certain elements
particularly nitrogen may be deficient in the soil, or they may be in the form not readily available to
plants.
- All the plants have chlorophyll and are able to make their own food.
- They can develop normally without insects, if they are given the nutrients they need.
 Four Types of Insect-Trapping Mechanisms
PITCHER PLANTS SUNDEWS VENUS FLYTRAPS BLADDERWORTS

❖ flattened, larger, cone- ❖ Tiny, measuring 2.5 – ❖ Constructed along the ❖ Submerged and floating
shaped, vaselike, 5.0 cm in diameter. line of old-fashioned in the shallow water
umbrellalike flaps. steel trap. along the margins of lakes
❖ Covered with up to and streams, have finely
200 upright, glandular ❖ The two halves of the dissected leaves with tiny
hairs that look like blade have the bladders.
❖ Nectar- secreting miniature clubs. appearance of being
glands; give distinctive hinged along the ❖ Four curled but stiff hairs
odor. ❖ Clear, glistening drop midrib, with at one end of the
of sticky fluid trapdoor act as triggers
containing digestive ❖ stiff, hairlike when an insect touches
enzymes at the tip of projections along their
one of them.
each hair. margins.

❖ Three tiny trigger hairs

on the inner surface of
each half.

AUTUMNAL CHANGES OF LEAF COLOR

- The chloroplasts of mature leaves contain several groups of pigments, such as green chlorophylls and
carotenoids, which include yellow carotenes and pale yellow xanthophylls.
- More chlorophyll than other pigments is present, and the intense green color of the chlorophylls masks
or hides the presence of carotenes.
- Water-soluble anthocyanin and betacyanin pigments may also accumulate in the vacuoles of the leaf
cells in the fall.
- Anthocyanins, the more common of the two groups, are red if the cell sap is slightly acidic, blue if it is
slightly alkaline, and of intermediate shades if it is neutral. Betacyanins are usually red.

ABSCISSION
- Deciduous: leaves drop seasonally
- Abscission: process by which the leaves are shed
- Occurs as a result of changes that take place in an abscission zone near the base of the petiole of each
leaf.
- Hormones inhibit the formation of the specialized layers of cells that facilitate abscission are produced
in young leaves.
- As the leaf ages, hormonal changes take place and at least two layers of cells become differentiated.
- Closest to the stem, protective layer cells become coated and impregnated with fatty suberin.
- On the leaf side, a separation layer develops in which the cells swell, sometimes divide, and become
gelatinous.
- In response to any several environmental changes (lowering temperatures, decreasing day lengths or
light intensities, lack of adequate water, or damage to the leaf), the pectins in the middle lamella of the
cells of the separation layer are broken down by enzymes.
 - All that holds the leaf on to the stem at this point are some strands of xylem.
- Wind and rain then easily break the connecting strands, leaving tiny bundle scars within a leaf scar and
the leaf falls down to the ground.

Human and Ecological Relevance of Leaves

Landscaping
Spices and
and Aesthetic Food Dyes Oils Drugs
Flavorings
Effects
▪ cabbages, ▪ thyme, ▪ Petitgrain oil - for ▪ Cocaine- local
▪ shade trees parsley, marjoram, ▪ Yellow scenting soaps and anesthetic
landscaping lettuce, oregano, dye from colognes
for cooling as spinach tarragon, bearberry. ▪ Patchouli oil- ▪ Belladonna- from
well as for and chard, peppermint, perfumes the leaves of deadly
aesthetic spearmint, ▪ Reddish nightshade
petioles of
effects. wintergreen, dye from ▪ lemongrass/citronella
celery and
basil, dill, henna. oils- mosquito
rhubarb. repellant
sage, cilantro, ▪ Atropine (schock,
savory. ▪ Pale blue anesthetic),
dye from ▪ Eucalyptus oil,
blue ash. camphor, cajeput, ▪ Scopolamine
and pennyroyal- (tranquilizer and
medicinally sleeping aid)

▪ Foxglove-
digitalis
(regulates blood
circulation and
heartbeat)

▪ Labeline- stop
smoking

▪ Aloe- skin burns

PLANT ORGANS: FLOWER AND SEEDS

 Annuals – single season; ends with death of a parent plant

 Biennials – two growing seasons
 Perennials – several to many growing seasons from germinated seed to plant producing new seeds; may
produce flowers on new growth that dies back each winter; other parts may persist indefinitely.

Two Major Classes:

o Magnoliopsida (Dicotyledonae) – Dicots
o Liliopsida (Monocotyledonae) – Monocots
 Difference Between Monocots and Dicots
MONOCOTS DICOTS

One cotyledon Two cotyledon

Threes or multiples of threes Fours or fives or multiples of four or five

Leaf with more or less parallel primary veins Leaf with distinct network of primary veins

Vascular cambium and cork cambium absent Vascular cambium, and frequently cork cambium
present
Vascular bundles of stem scattered Vascular bundles stem in a ring

Pollen grains mostly with one aperture Pollen grains mostly with 3 apertures

Structure of Flowers

PARTS OF FLOWERS

➢ Peduncle – specialized branch at the tip of the stalk.

➢ Pedicel – Branchlets of smaller stalks.
➢ Receptacle – small pad that arises when the peduncle or pedicel swells at its tips.
➢ Sepals – 3-5 small, usually green, leaflike found in the outermost whorl.
o Gamosepalous – united and form a single sepals.
o Polysepalous – sepals that are separated, not fused or united.
➢ Calyx – Collective term of sepals.
 ➢ Petals – next whorl of flowers, bright colored. May be tubular, bell-shaped, funnel shaped or wheel-
shaped.
o Gamopetalous – all petals are fused or united o
o Polypetalous – all petals are separated or not fused.
➢ Corolla – collective term of Petals
➢ Perianth – consists of calyx and corolla
➢ Bracts – specialized leaves that may be as colorful as petals and can attract pollinators.
➢ Androecium – term for Male Reproductive Organ of the flower.
➢ Stamen – consist of Anther and Filament
o Filament – thin, slender stalk
o Anther – saclike structure which contains the pollen grains
▪ Pollen sacs – chambers in the anther that contains the pollen grains.
Each pollen grain contains two cells: one cell regenerates two sperm cells and the other produces pollen tube
through which the sperm cells will reach the ovule.

➢ Gynoecium – Term for Female Reproductive Organ of the flower.

➢ Pistil – composed of: Stigma, Style and Ovary o Stigma – located at the tip of the female organ which
receives pollen.
o Style – slender projection of the ovary. Connective tissues between stigma and the ovary.
o Ovary – enlarged basal part, contains ovules or embryo sacs.
▪ Superior: if the calyx and corolla are attached to the receptacle at the base of the ovary.
(e.g. pea and primrose flowers)
▪ Inferior: receptacle grows up around in some cases fused to the ovary, so that the calyx
and corolla appear to be attached at the top
(e.g., cactus and carrot flowers)
o Ovule – unfertilized, immature seeds.

INFLORESCENCES

- Groups of several to hundreds of flowers that may all open at the same time, or
follow and orderly progression to maturation.
- Arrangement of flowers in the main axis (pedicel) - 3 types: Racemose, Cymose and
Special Type - Examples:
o Water pennywort (Hydrocotyle ranunculoides) o Fireweed (Epilobium
angustifolium) o Elephant-heads (Pedicularis groenlandica) o False spike-nard
(Smilacina racemose)
o Common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)

POLLINATION – transfer pollen grains from another to stigma.

 Self-pollinated – if pollination occurs within the same flower or within a different flower on the same
individual plant.
  Cross-pollination – occurs when pollen grains are transferred to a flower on another individual of the
same species.

FRUITS

 Any ovary and its accessory parts that has developed and matured. It also contains seeds. (Ex. tomatoes,
string beans, cucumbers, squashes)
 Vegetables can consist of leaves (e.g. lettuce, cabbage), leaf petioles (celery), specialized leaves (onion),
stems (potato), roots (sweet potatoes), stems and roots (beets), flowers and peduncles (broccoli), flower
buds (globe artichoke).
Fertilization – usually indirectly determines whether or not the ovaries will develop into a fruit.

Hormones – stimulants that are present in the pollen grains that may initiate fruit development and sometimes
a little dead pollen is all that is needed to stimulate an ovary into becoming a fruit.
Parthenocarpic – fruits that develop w/o fertilization.
FRUIT REGIONS
 Pericarp – collective term for the following three regions.
o Exocarp/Epicarp - outermost layer
o Mesocarp – often fleshy or pulpy tissue between exocarp and endocarp o Endocarp – Inner
boundary around the seed. May be hard and stony (peach) and can also be papery (apples).
Kinds of Fruits
Simple fruit
❖ Dry Simple Fruits – Mesocarp is definitely dry at maturity.
➢ Dry Simple Dehiscent Fruit
 Follicle – splits along one side or seam (suture) only, exposing seeds within.
(Ex.: Larkspur, Columbine, Milkweed and peony)
 Legume – splits along two sides or seams. Thousands of members of the Legume
family (Fabaceae) produce this type of fruit. (Ex.: peas, beans, garbanzo beans, lentils,
carob, kudzu and mesquite. Peanuts, but they are atypical in that fruits develop and
mature underground)
 Siliques – split along two sides or seams, but seeds are borne on a central partition,
which is exposed when the two halves of the fruit separate. Silicles – fruits that are
less than three times as long as they are wide.
o forms a false septum (Replum, where the seeds are attached)
o produced by the Mustard family (Brassicaceae)- broccoli, cabbage, radish,
shepherd’s purse, cauliflower, bok choy, broccoli rabe, kale, arugula, brussel
sprouts, and watercress
 Capsule – most common of the dry fruits that split a variety of ways. Split through the
cavities (locules) in the carpels. They form pores. (Ex.: irises, orchids, lilies, poppies,
violets, and snapdragons and brazil nut (seeds of a large capsule)
 Valvular/Valve - Ex.: Okra, Gossypium (cotton)
 ➢ Dry Simple Indehiscent Fruit – dry fruits that do not split at maturity. Single seed is united
with the pericarp.
 Achene – attached to its surrounding pericarp. Husk is relatively easily separated
from the seed. Ex.: Sunflower seeds (edible kernel plus the husk), buttercup, and
buckwheat.
 Caryopses/Caryopsis – Also known as grains. Tightly united with the seed that
cannot be separated from it. All members of the Grass Family (Poaceae)-corn,
wheat, rice, oats, and barley
 Samara – pericarp surrounding the seeds extends out in the form of a wing or
membrane, which aids in dispersal. In maples- samaras are produced in pairs, but
in ashes, elms, and the tree of heaven they are produced singly.

➢ Dry Schizocarpic Fruit

• some parts either dehiscent or indehiscent. Single seeded part does not undergo
dehiscent – Mericarp
• Single seeded part that undergoes dehiscent – Cocci
• Twin fruit that is unique to the Parsley Family (Aplaceae)- parsley, carrots, anise,
caraway, and dill. Mericarps- two one seeded segment.
❖ Simple Fleshy Fruits – develop from a flower with a single pistil. Ovary may be superioir or inferior,
and it may be simple (derived from a single carpel), may consist of two or more carpels and be a
compound. Types: Drupe, Berry, Pome
➢ Drupe: with single seed enclosed by endocarp, or pit. The mesocarp is what we consume.
Ex.: mango, coconuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashew nut (single seed of a unique drupe)
and Pistachio nut (seeds of drupes).
➢ Berry/Berries: develop from a compound ovary, contain more than one seed. Entire pericarp
is fleshy, difficult to distinguish mesocarp and endocarp.
• Superior Berry/True berry: all 3 layers of fruit are edible. Ex. Grapes and tomatoes
• Inferior Berries – any 1 or 2 layers not edible. Ex. Papaya and banana
Special Type of Berries:

▪ Pepo – berries with relatively thick rinds. Ex. Pumpkin Family (Cucubitaceae),
cucumbers
▪ Balausta – the edible part is called Testa. Ex. Pomegranates
▪ Hesperidium – berry with a leathery skin containing oils. Juicy sacs are the
ingrowths of the endocarp. Ex.: Citrus Family (Rutaceae)
➢ Pome: the bulk of whose flesh comes from enlarged floral tube or receptacle that grows up
around the ovary. They have endocarps that are papery or leathery. Thalamus is the edible
part. Ex.: Apple, pears and quinces
➢ Accessory Fruits – fruits having accessory tissue 9develop from the tissue surrounding the
ovary) and refers to pomes, pepos, some berries and other fruits derived from more than one
ovary alone.
 Aggregate – one that is derived from a single flower with several to many pistils. The pistils develop into
tiny drupes or other fruitlets, but they mature as a clustered unit on a single receptacle.
➢ Etario of Achene (Strawberries)
➢ Etario of Drupe (Raspberries)
➢ Etario of Berries (Custard Apple)
Composite/Multiple Fruits – derived from several to many individual flowers in a single inflorescence.
Each flower has its own receptacle, but as the flowers mature separately into fruitlets, they develop
together into a single larger fruit.
➢ Soroses
o Female Catkin (Mulberries)
o Spadix (Pineapples)
➢ Syconium (Figs)

FRUITS AND SEED DISPERSAL

- It is important for seeds to be carried away from the mother plant before they germinate. This prevents
competition with the mother plant and avoids inbreeding.

Dispersal by Wind

➢ Samara of the maple has a curved wing that causes the fruit to spin as it it released from the tree. In a
brisk wind, samaras are carried by the wind for up to 10 km. (6miles) away from their source.
➢ In some members of the Buttercup and Sunflower Families (Ranunculaceae and Asteraceae), the fruits
have plumes and in the Willow Family (Saliceae), the fruits are surrounded by cottony or woolly hairs
that aid in wind dispersal.
➢ Orchids and heaths produce seeds with no endosperm that are as fine as dust and equally light in weight.
➢ Dandelion fruitlets have plumes that radiate out at the ends like tiny parachutes:
o these catch even a slight breeze.
Dispersal by Animals

➢ Birds, mammals and ants all act as seed dispersal agents.

➢ Shore birds may carry seeds great distances in mud that adheres to their feet.
➢ Other birds and mammals eat fruits whose seeds pass unharmed through their digestive tracts.
➢ Some bird-disseminated fruits contain laxatives that speed their passage through the bird’s digestive
tracts.
➢ Giant tortoises- seeds do not pass through the tract for 2 weeks or more, and the seeds usually will not
germinate unless they have been subjected to such treatment.
➢ Some are gathered and stored by rodents, such as squirrels and mice.
➢ Blue jays, woodpeckers and other birds carry away nuts and other fruits, which they may drop in flight.
➢ Many fruits and seeds adhere to the fur or feathers of animals and birds.
 Dispersal by Water

➢ Some fruits contain trapped air, adapting them to water dispersal. Many sedges have seeds
surrounded by inflated sacs that enable the seeds to float.
➢ Others have waxy material on the surface of the seeds which temporarily prevents them from
absorbing water while they are floating.
➢ Sometimes a heavy downpour will create a torrent of water that dislodges masses of vegetation
along a stream bank, carrying whole plants and their fruits to new locations.
➢ Large raindrops themselves may splash seeds out of their opened capsules.
➢ Seeds and fruits of a few plants have thick, spongy pericarps that absorb water very slowly.
➢ Some fruits are adapted to dispersal by ocean currents, even though salt water eventually may
penetrate enough to kill the delicate embryos.
Other Dispersal Mechanisms and Agents

➢ Fruits of some legumes, touch-me-nots, and members of other families mechanically eject seeds,
sometimes with considerable force.
➢ Fruits of dwarf mistletoes may be violently released in response to the heat of a warm-blooded
animal coming close to plants.
➢ Humans, both intentionally and unintentionally, are by far the most efficient transporters of fruits
and seeds. Travelers and explorers have carried many noxious weeds and plant diseases, as well as
valuable food and medicinal plants, from one continent to another.

SEEDS

➢ Develop from ovules.

➢ Fertilize, mature ovules.

Hilum – small, white scar that is present in the concave side of an ordinary kidney bean.
Micropyle – tiny pore located near the hilum. Lower part of the Cotyledonary Node.

Cotyledons – two halves that can be distinguished once the seed coat is removed.
– tiny, immature plantlet along one edge between them, are food-storage organs that also function as
the seed leaves of the seedling plant.

Embryo – consists of the cotyledon, and the tiny, rudimentary bean plant.

Plumule – tiny embryo plantlet that has undeveloped leaves and a meristem at the upper end of the embryo
axis. Cotyledons are attached just below the plumule.
Epicotyls – very short part of the stem above the cotyledons.
Hypocotyl – stem below the attachment
point. Kidney bean germinates- this
lengthens and bends, becoming hook-
shaped.

Radicle – tip that will develop into a root.

Endosperm – in corn, this is the bulk of
the food-storage tissue.
Coleoptile and Coleorhiza – tubular,
sheathing structures where plumule and
the radicle are enclosed. Protect the
delicate tissues within as the seeds germinate.
Germination – emergence of the radicle, beginning or resumption of growth of a seed that depends on the
interplay of a number of internal and external factors.
Dormancy – many seeds require this before they germinate. It is brought about by mechanical or physiological
circumstances, or both.
Scarification – involves nicking or slightly cracking the seeds in a concentrated acid for a few seconds to a few
minutes. Example: Legume Family (Fabaceae)
Apples, pears, citrus fruits, tomatoes, and other fleshy fruits contain inhibitors that prevent germination of seeds
within the fruits. Once the seeds are removed and washed, they germinate readily.
After-ripening: seeds will not germinate after the fruit has dropped until the embryo has developed fully with
the aid of food materials stored in its endosperm.