Plant Systematics Quiz 11

. In what general types of environment are conifers able to survive and reproduce pretty well, so that they aren't driven to extinction by flowering plants? Choose three of the following six (p. 2 of Wed April 3 ginkgo-conifer handout should help) ________ Tropical rainforest in Brazil, more or less in the very center of the South American continent ________ In the cold, often dry environments high in the Andes Mountains running along the western edge of South America ________ All across southern Canada ________ In the warm humid valley around the lower Mississippi River ________ Throughout most of the Sahara Desert of northern Africa, where it is drier than dry ________ In the southeastern US, including Florida and New Jersey, where soils are often sandy and water drains right through, leaving the soil fairly dry much of the time

"In the cold..." "All across..." "In the southeastern US"

The Attenborough video that we watched in lab covered several adaptations of conifers that help them to do well in cold, dry environments with short summers, and we added a couple. List as many features as you can recall (using our list on the board that dealt with both the structure of the needle and the fact that the needles don't drop every year). List both the feature and the reason that it is an advantage for surviving in dry and/or cold environments without long summers.

-Tough waxy needles, pores restricted to a groove that runs down the middle of the needle -Deep pores conserve water -Don't manufacture food as fast as deciduous trees -SAVE energy by not dropping needles every year (bc needles are tough and water resistant) -Needles can photosynthesize whenever there's enough light

Also: what is primary xylem and phloem, as opposed to secondary xylem and phloem? Know where all of these things are on the diagrams on p. 3 of your Wednesday April 3 lecture handout.

1 degree= primary 2 degree= secondary

The General Sherman tree, a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), is the most massive living tree. Google on General Sherman tree and look it up in Wikipedia to see: d Look at the pictures on the Sequoiadendron giganteum Wikipedia site. Giant sequoias live a long time, and they can eventually reach over 300 feet tall, or close to 100 meters. Figure out from one of the pictures (Benmore Botanic Garden) how long it takes a giant sequoia to achieve HALF of that height, about 50 meters or over 150 feet.

150 years

The General Sherman tree, a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), is the most massive living tree. Google on General Sherman tree and look it up in Wikipedia to see: b. The first reference in the Wikipedia General Sherman site is the source of the measurements on that tree. Check the citation of the reference to find out when (in what year) the General Sherman Tree was actually measured. This suggests either a need to update the measurements (are you up for it? It takes lots of climbing) or a new meaning to the phrase "long long ago and far far away".

1997

2. Match the following. a. Ephedra b. Gnetum c. Welwitschia Grows in desert of southwestern Africa Grows in dry temperate areas such as the southwestern US Grows in tropical rainforest Is a broad-leaved shrub or vine (sometimes a tree) Has two huge, straplike leaves that get split into narrow strips over time, a woody crown, and a long taproot A shrub or vine whose branches look like the stems of a scouring rush (horsetail), because its stems are green and jointed with scaly leaves at the joints Source of a drug that has long been used against asthma, allergies, and nasal congestion but that is possibly linked to deaths from stroke and heart attack Source of a beverage (Mormon's tea)

2. Match the following. a. Ephedra b. Gnetum c. Welwitschia c. Welwitschia Grows in desert of southwestern Africa a. Ephedra Grows in dry temperate areas such as the southwestern US b. Gnetum Grows in tropical rainforest b. Gnetum Is a broad-leaved shrub or vine (sometimes a tree) c. Welwitschia Has two huge, straplike leaves that get split into narrow strips over time, a woody crown, and a long taproot a. Ephedra A shrub or vine whose branches look like the stems of a scouring rush (horsetail), because its stems are green and jointed with scaly leaves at the joints a. Ephedra Source of a drug that has long been used against asthma, allergies, and nasal congestion but that is possibly linked to deaths from stroke and heart attack a. Ephedra Source of a beverage (Mormon's tea)

The General Sherman tree, a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), is the most massive living tree. Google on General Sherman tree and look it up in Wikipedia to see: a. the most recent measurement of its height (save for next question)

275 feet

On a pine tree, in the summer, how many different age classes of seed cones can one find?

3

Consider the following six major conifer families: Pinaceae: pines, hemlocks, firs, spruces, Douglas-fir, tamaracks, etc. Araucariaceae: monkey puzzle tree, Norfolk Island pine, etc. Podocarpaceae: podocarps, incuding Buddhist pines Cupressaceae: cypresses, junipers, arbor-vitaes, bald cypresses, redwoods, sequoias, dawn redwoods, etc. Cephalotaxaceae: plum yews Taxaceae: yews, Florida torreya 12b. Which two, in contrast, are particularly common in the southern hemisphere?

Araucariaceae, podocarpaceae

. There is a species of tree, located in the Sierra Nevada mountains of eastern California - western Nevada and visited by David Attenborough, that lives even longer than the 3800 years of General Sherman, the giant sequoia. What is that tree species?

Bristlecone pine

Know what the following are: calyx, corolla, androecium, gynoecium.

Calyx: the outermost group of floral parts, the sepals Corolla: the inner envelope of floral leaves of a flower, usually of delicate texture and some color other than green; the petals considered collectively Androecium: the male parts of a flower (stamens) Gynoecium: the female parts of a flower (pistils)

What tree is well-known as a "living fossil" because it was discovered in the fossil record before it was discovered growing alive? (There is one on the west side of Kaufman. This species sheds its needles each winter, like bald cypresses.)

Dawn redwood

Aspens are a flowering plant, not a conifer. This clone is named Pando. It has two claims to fame, two ways in which it exceeds all other living organisms. What are they?

Heaviest known organism, oldest known organism

1. Ephedrine is used for relieving asthma and other stuff on your lecture outline. However, it causes some serious medical problems and is banned in major league baseball, the PGA tour, and some other sports situations. What does it do to your blood pressure and heart rate? (it does the same thing to both)

Increases blood pressure and heart rate

How old is the oldest one known?

Over 4000 years old

Consider the following six major conifer families: Pinaceae: pines, hemlocks, firs, spruces, Douglas-fir, tamaracks, etc. Araucariaceae: monkey puzzle tree, Norfolk Island pine, etc. Podocarpaceae: podocarps, incuding Buddhist pines Cupressaceae: cypresses, junipers, arbor-vitaes, bald cypresses, redwoods, sequoias, dawn redwoods, etc. Cephalotaxaceae: plum yews Taxaceae: yews, Florida torreya Which three of the above six families are native to and common throughout the northern hemisphere (including our area)?

Pinaceae, cupressceae, texaceae

Bill and Hilary Clinton are on the point of getting a divorce because HE says mustards are in the family Brassicaceae, named after the cabbage genus Brassica, and SHE says mustards are in the family Cruciferae, so-named because the flowers have four petals in the shape of a cross or crucifix. Who is correct, and why?

They are both correct, Cruciferae is the legal alternative (old) name

Be able to find and label the two cambiums on the diagrams on p. 3 of your Wednesday April 3 (ginkgo and conifer) lecture handout.

Vascular cambium first, cork cambium second

Name any THREE characteristics of most trees in the Pinaceae that, taken together, usually distinguish that family from the other five families listed above. (HINT: I'd start with a particular feature of the pollen, and then see what other characteristics, in combination with the pollen characteristic, will tell you that you have a plant in the Pinaceae rather than in any other family.)

Winged pollen, 2 ovules per cone scale, no flagella on sperm

What two types of tissue does the vascular cambium in a woody trunk produce, when its cells divide?

Xylem an Phloem

Which of those two types of tissue is produced to the outside of the vascular cambium, and which is produced to the inside?

Xylem is produced inside, phloem is outside

15. Xylem cells normally conduct water from the roots of a plant up through the stem and into the leaves, and phloem cells normally conduct food (sugars manufactured from photosynthesis) down from a plant's leaves through its stem and on into the roots. But in Parasitaxus ustus (new name Parasitaxus usta), a funny-looking scaly-leaved, red or purple conifer of New Caledonia, things are different. What does xylem do, and what does phloem do (if anything) in P. ustus? Why do xylem and phloem each act in this odd fashion (or not act at all) in P. ustus?

Xylem takes sugar from the other plant along with the water

What does the cork cambium produce when its cells divide?

bark

The General Sherman tree, a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), is the most massive living tree. Google on General Sherman tree and look it up in Wikipedia to see: c. Also look up Sequoiadendron giganteum in Wikipedia. What qualifier does Wikipedia put on the idea that it is the largest tree in the world? (This is related to question 20 below)

largest single trees, largest trees by volume

Where on the flower (on which of the three parts of the pistil) must pollen land, if it is to successfully convey sperm to the egg?

stigma

After the pollen grain lands on the top part of the pistil (the stigma), what second part of the pistil must it bore through next, and what is the third part of the pistil that the pollen tube eventually reaches to find the female gametophyte?

stigma --> style --> ovary