Plant Systematics

What is a “plant”? In what two conceptual ways can the answer to this question be approached?

What are the three major groups of life currently accepted?

Name and define the mechanism for the evolution of chloroplasts.

Name some chlorophyllous organismal groups that have traditionally been called “plants” but that evolved or acquired chloroplasts independently.

Draw a simplified cladogram showing the relative relationships among the green plants (Chlorobionta/Viridiplantae), land plants (embryophytes), vascular plants (tracheophytes), seed plants (spermatophytes), gymnosperms, and angiosperms (flowering plants).

Why are land plants treated as equivalent to “plants” in this book?

List the many ways that plants are important, both in evolution of life on earth and in terms of direct benefits to humans.

What is systematics and what is its primary emphasis?

Define biological evolution, describing what is meant both by descent and by modification.

What is a lineage?

Name and define the units that undergo evolutionary change.

What are the two major mechanisms for evolutionary change?

What is a functional feature that results in increased survival or reproduction called?

Name and define the four components of taxonomy.

Define character and character state.

Give one example of a character and character state from morphology or from some type of specialized data.

What is a dichotomous key? A couplet? A lead?

What is a scientific name?

Define binomial and indicate what each part of the binomial is called.

What is the difference between rank and taxon?

Name the two main ways to classify organisms and describe how they differ.

Define phylogeny and give the name of the branching diagram that represents phylogeny.

What does a split, from one lineage to two, represent?

Name the term for both a preexisting feature and a new feature.

What is phylogenetic systematics (cladistics)?

What is a monophyletic group or clade?

What is a paraphyletic group?

What is a polyphyletic group?

For what can phylogenetic methods be used?

How is systematics the foundation of the biological sciences?

How can systematics be viewed as unifying the biological sciences?

How is systematics of value in conservation biology?

Name the major plant organs.

What are the continuously actively dividing cell regions of a plant called and where are they located?

What is meant by plant habit and what are the types of plant habit?

Name various types of plant habitat.

Name and define five different types of plant life forms.

What is the function of roots?

What are the root cap, root hair, adventitious root, and lateral root?

What is the difference between a taproot and a fibrous root system?

What is a shoot?

What is a bud, where do buds typically develop, and what do they develop into?

Define node, internode.

What is the difference between a bulb, corm, and tuber? Between a rhizome, caudex, and stolon (runner)?

What is the difference between a caudiciform stem and a pachycaul?

What is a thorn and how does it differ from a spine or prickle?

Define: tiller, burl, pseudobulb, short shoot, tendril.

Name the difference between acaulescent and caulescent; between prostrate, repent, and decumbent. What is the corresponding character for all of these?

What is the difference between monopodial and sympodial?

Draw a typical twig and label terminal bud, axillary bud, leaf scar, vascular bundle scars, lenticels.

What is the difference between an axillary, terminal, and pseudoterminal bud? A collateral and superposed bud?

What is the difference between a bract and a scale?

Name some specialized modifications of leaves associated with flowers or inflorescences.

From what is a phyllode derived?

What is a spine and what are the three major types?

Name three modifications of leaves found in carnivorous plants.

Name five leaf types.

What are the basic components of a simple leaf?

Draw a bipinnately compound leaf and label: leaflet, petiole, petiolule, rachis, rachilla, stipule, stipel.

What is the difference between imparipinnate and paripinnate? Trifoliolate and palmate? Geminate-pinnate and bipinnately compound? Unifoliolate and simple?

Name four different types of leaf attachment.

What is the difference between parallel and penni-parallel? Between pinnate-netted, palmate-netted, and ternate-netted venation?

Name four major types of specialized venation types.

Draw a typical flower and label all the parts, including collective terms.

Name the two basic types of flower sex.

Name the three basic types of plant sex. What is the corresponding type of flower sex for each?

Draw a zygomorphic corolla and label anterior lobe(s) and posterior lobe(s).

What is the difference between radial and biradial symmetry?

What is the difference between protandrous and protogynous? Between centrifugal and centripetal? Between cleistogamous and chasmogamous development?

What is a claw, corona, hypanthium, limb, lip, lobe, spur, throat, tube?

What are the two major types of perianth arrangement?

What is perianth cycly?

What is the difference between dichlamydeous and homochlamydeous?

Name two types of calyx fusion; of corolla fusion.

Define or draw the following perianth types: bilabiate, campanulate, rotate, salverform, urceolate.