B 10 VRV 6221

Lesson Overview What is a Plant?
Lesson Overview
22.1 What is a Plant?
THINK ABOUT IT
Plants have adapted so well to so many environments that they dominate
much of the surface of our planet.
Characteristics of Plants
What do plants need to survive?
Characteristics of Plants
What do plants need to survive?

The lives of plants center on the need for sunlight, gas exchange, water, and
minerals.
The Plant Kingdom
Plants are classified as members of the kingdom Plantae.

Plants are eukaryotes that have cell walls containing
cellulose and carry out photosynthesis using chlorophyll a
and b.
What Plants Need
All plants have the same

basic needs: sunlight, a
way to exchange gases
with the surrounding air,
water, and minerals.
Sunlight
Plants use the energy from sunlight

to carry out photosynthesis.

Leaves are typically broad and flat
and are arranged on the stem so as
to maximize light absorption.
Gas Exchange
Plants require oxygen to support

cellular respiration, as well as
carbon dioxide to carry out
photosynthesis.

Plants must exchange these gases
with the atmosphere and the soil
without losing excessive amounts
of water through evaporation.
Water and Minerals
Land plants have evolved

structures that limit water loss and
speed the uptake of water from
the ground.

Minerals are nutrients in the soil
that are needed for plant growth.
Many plants have specialized

tissues that carry water and
nutrients upward from the soil and
distribute the products of
photosynthesis throughout the
plant body.
The History and Evolution of Plants

How did plants adapt to life on land?
The History and Evolution of Plants

How did plants adapt to life on land?

Over time, the demands of life on land favored the
evolution of plants more resistant to the drying rays
of the sun, more capable of conserving water, and
more capable of reproducing without water.
Origins in the Water

The ancestors of today’s land plants were water-dwelling organisms similar to
today’s green algae.

Although not as large and complex as many plants, green
algae have cell walls and photosynthetic pigments that are
identical to those of plants. Green algae also have
reproductive cycles that are similar to plants.

Studies of the genomes of green algae suggest that they are
so closely related to other plants that they should be
considered part of the plant kingdom.
The First Land Plants

The greatest challenge that early land plants
faced was obtaining water.
They met this challenge by growing close to
the ground in damp locations.

Fossils suggest the first true
plants were still dependent
on water to complete their
life cycles. One of the
earliest fossil vascular plants
was Cooksonia, shown
here.
The First Land Plants

Several groups of plants evolved from the first land plants.

One group developed into mosses.

Another lineage gave rise to ferns, cone-bearing plants, and

flowering plants.
An Overview of the Plant Kingdom
Botanists divide the plant kingdom into five

major groups based on four important
features: embryo formation, specialized
water-conducting tissues, seeds, and flowers.
An Overview of the Plant Kingdom

The relationship of plant groups is shown below
The Plant Life Cycle

What feature defines most plant life cycles?

What feature defines most plant life cycles?

The life cycle of land plants has two

alternating phases, a diploid (2N) phase
and a haploid (N) phase.

The life cycle of land plants has two alternating phases, a diploid (2N)
phase and a haploid (N) phase.

The shift between the haploid phase and the diploid phase is known as the
alternation of generations, as shown in the figure.

The multicellular diploid phase is known as the
sporophyte, or spore-producing plant.

The multicellular haploid phase is known as the
gametophyte, or gamete-producing plant.

Asporophyte produces haploid spores
through meiosis. These spores grow into
multicellular structures called gametophytes.

Each gametophyte produces reproductive cells called gametes—sperm
and egg cells.

During fertilization, a sperm and egg fuse with each other, producing a
diploid zygote that develops into a new sporophyte.
Trends in Plant Evolution

An important trend in plant evolution is the reduction in size of the gametophyte
and the increasing size of the sporophyte.

B 10 VRV 6221

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Lesson Overview What is a Plant?

The Plant Kingdom

Plants are classified as members of the kingdom Plantae.

What Plants Need

All plants have the same

Plants use the energy from sunlight

Plants require oxygen to support

Water and Minerals

Land plants have evolved

Many plants have specialized

The History and Evolution of Plants

The History and Evolution of Plants

Origins in the Water

The First Land Plants

The First Land Plants

Another lineage gave rise to ferns, cone-bearing plants, and

An Overview of the Plant Kingdom

Botanists divide the plant kingdom into five

An Overview of the Plant Kingdom

The Plant Life Cycle

The Plant Life Cycle

The life cycle of land plants has two

The Plant Life Cycle

The Plant Life Cycle

The Plant Life Cycle

The Plant Life Cycle

The Plant Life Cycle

Trends in Plant Evolution

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