Cupressus

Structure, reproduction
and life cycle

Haripriya M
Msc botany
SN College, kollam
 Cupressus

Gymnospermic Plant

 class coniferopsida
Order Coniferales
Family Cupressaceae
Cupressus macrocarpa
 Habitat

World wide distribution

It is predominant in the northern
hemisphere especially in temperate
regions. In the southern hemisphere it
is seen in the hill stations
Cupressus sempervirens
 Morphology
Sporophytic Evergreen plant
Most of them are ornamental, some
are sources of wood
They are tress with horizontal lateral
branches which bear branchlets and
leaves.
They are conical in appearance
Uses
Plant body

 Differentiated
into stem,
leaves and roots
 No shoot dimorphism
 Monecious-male and
female cones occurs on
separate branch system
STEM

 woody and branched

 Lower branches is longer than upper
branches –giving a conical appearance
-stem
Stem is covered with green scale
leaves
 Bark

Vascular cambium
Primary xylem
Secondary xylem
Secondary phloem

STEM anatomy
Root
Tap root system
Consisting of a
large primary root
and its laterals
 Leaves

 Leaves are small and scale-

like.
 More or less triangle in outline
 Leavesare arranged in
opposite decussate manner
 Young leaves are green. But it
becomes darker during later
stages
 Reproduction
Monoecious - Produces male and female
cones in separate branches of the same
plant
Cupressus reproduce asexually by spores.
They are heterosporous – microspores
and megaspores
Microspores are produced in male cones
Megaspores are produced in female cones
MALE CONE/Staminate Strobili

 MALE reproductive structure

 Formed at the tip of lateral
branches
 Looks like a swollen bud
 It
consist of central axis and many
microsporophyll
 MICROSPOROPHYLL
MICROSPOROPHYLL are
peltale and arranged in
opposite decussate manner
and are Valvate
 Eachmicrosporophyll has 2-
6 microsporangia
Microsporangia / pollen sac

Spherical structure without any stalk

It consist of 3 layered sporangia wall and
inner sporogenous tissue
The sporogenous cell become spore
mother cell. They undergo meiosis and
give rise to 4 haploid microspores in the
form of tetrad.
Microspore

 unicellular and uninucleate

Has 2 wall-outer thick exine and inner
thin intine
It contain a HAPLOID NUCLEUS and
DENSE CYTOPLASM
They are carried by wind
Female cone / ovulate strobilus
Globular structure
It is produced at the tip of
lateral branches
Larger than male cone
Each female cone consist
of a short central axis and
many megasporophyll
called ovuliferous scales
Ovuliferous scales
 Ovuliferous scales are stony and valvate
 Each ovuliferous scale bear 4-6 atropous ovules
 Ovules are nacked
 Ovulesconsist of nucellus which is covered by
integuments
 Integumentsis differentiated into 3 layers-
outer, middle and inner
 Theintegument leave a pore at the distal end.
This pore is called micropyle
There is a pollen chamber just below
the micropyle
6-10 cell near the pollen chamber
becomes megaspore mother cell
MMC undergo meiosis to form 4
megaspore in a linear tetrad
Only 1 is functional and it develop
into female gametophyte
Female gametophyte

The nucleus of the megaspore divide repeatedly to

form 6000 free nuclei
then wall formation takes place in centripetal
manner and female gametophyte is formed
Some cells just below the pollen chamber enlarge and
become an archegonial complex
Archegonial complex consist of 14-17 archegonia
surrounded by a single layered jacket
Archegonia consist of an eggcell and a venter canal cell
MALE gametophyte

 Microspores has a haploid nucleus, it divides

into a large tube cell and a small generative cell
 Exinerupture and intine protrude out in the
form of Pollen tube
 The tube nucleus and generative cell enter the
pollen tube
 Pollen grain is shed at 2 celled Stage
Pollination

 Wind(anemophilous)
 Thereis a sugary exudate at the
micropyle
 Ovulereceive the microspores by pollen
drop mechanism
Fertilization

 Thepollen tube penetrate the nucellus and

reach the archegonium
 Meanwhile the generative cell divide and give
rise to 4-11male gamate
 Onreaching the archegonium, the pollen tube
rupture, releasing the male gamate
1 male gamate fuse with egg to form diploid
zygote
Zygote

 First cell of sporophytic generation

 Zygotedivide into 4 embryonal cells and 4
primary suspensor cells
 Suspensor cell give rise to suspensor
 Embryonal cell give rise to embryo. Mature
embryo has 2 cotyledon with well organised root
and shoot tip
Seed
The fertilized Ovule become
the seed
Seed consist of an outer
seed coat and an inner
female gametophyte
containing a straight embryo
Mature seeds are triangular
in Cross section
Seed germinate into a new
cupressus plant
Thank you