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Introduction to Botany

Jan Zientek

Senior Program Coordinator

Cooperative Extension of Essex County

zientek@njaes.rutgers.edu

Caveat

• All misrepresentations of the plant world are my fault

Basic Botany

• The study of the growth, structure and function of plants

BOTANY

• Evolution• Taxonomy• Plant morphology• Plant physiology and cell biology• Plant reproduction• Plant hormones and growth regulators

Bamboo Orchid Arundina graminifolia

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Poor Man’s Umbrella

Gunnera insignis

Common Name vs Scientific Name

• Maybe local name

• General• Universally recognized

• Specific

Foxglove Digitalis purpurea

Common Name vs Scientific Name

Fire bush

Hamelia patens

Scarlet bush

Texas firecracker

Corail (or is it Koray?)

Ix-canan

Hummingbird bush

Polly red head

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Rules for Writing Scientific Names

• The genus and species are written in italics or underlined.

• The first letter of the genus name is always capitalized.

• The word designating the species is always written lower case

letters.

Rules for Writing Scientific Names

• Cultivar names are not italicized or underlined

• Cultivar names are surrounded by ‘single quotation marks’

• Species may be abbreviated spp.

Plant Functions

PLANTAE

• Eukaryotic (with a nucleus)

• Cell walls with cellulose

• Food stored as carbohydrate

• Multi-cellular autotrophs

• Chloroplasts (green)

• Non-motile• Several phlyum• Development of

pollen

DOMAINKINGDOM

PHYLUMCLASS

ORDER FAMILY (impress your gardener friends)

must know Genus species

cultivar(impress your gardener friends)

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Cultivar

• The term cultivar is the contraction of two words – cultivated

and variety.

• Cultivars are the product of plant breeding. Species of plants

may have many named cultivars that have distinguishing

characteristics.

Plant phylums (types)

Mosses

Liverworts

Hornworts

Club mosses

Horsetails

Ferns

Cycads

Ginkgoes*

Gnetophytes

Conifers

Until sometime in the 90’s

Ginkgoes were thought to be

related to conifers. Why?

Because botantists

(taxonimists) were ready for a

phylum with one member!

Mosses are non-vascular plants --they cannot transport fluids through their bodies. Instead, they must rely on surrounding moisture to do this job for them.

Plant TypesFerns and allies have a vascular system to transport fluids through their bodies but like the mosses, they reproduce from spores rather than seeds. The main phylum, theFerns (Filicinophyta = Pteridophyta) includes around 12,000 species.

• Monocots: have a single cotyledon (seed leaf), flower parts in multiples of three, parallel venation of leaves, scattered vascular bundles in stems. Around 30,000 plants are classified as monocots including many of the prettiest members of kingdomPlantae: orchids, lilies, irises, palms and even the Bird-of-Paradise plant. The grasses which carpet our lawns and meadows are also monocots.

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Dioscorea sp. (Wild Yam)

A monocot with netted veinationDicots: The vast majority of plants are Dicots. Most trees, shrubs, vines, and flowers belong to this group of around 200,000 species. Most fruits, vegetables and legumes come from this class. They have two cotyledons, flower parts in multiples of 4 or 5, netted veins, and stems which are organized in a ring pattern.

Plants can be classified by the type of their seed structure

–Gymnosperm: “naked seed”

–Angiosperm: seed within a fruiting body

The gymnosperms add the next level of complexity to plant evolution: they reproduce from seeds instead of spores. The seeds, however, are "naked" - not covered by an ovary. Usually, the seed is produced inside a cone-like structure such as a pine cone hence the name "conifer." Some conifers, such as the Yew and Fir, produce their seeds inside a berry-like structure. GinkgoConifers are fairly easy to identify: In addition to the aforementioned cones, these trees and shrubs typically have needle-like, scale-like or awl-like leaves. And they never have flowers.

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•Lifecycles help gardeners distinguish between plants:

•Annuals•Biennials•Perennials

Annuals complete life cycles in one season

Biennials live for 2 years,

flower,

then die

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Perennials live for 3 or more years,flower each year and usually do not die after flowering.

Structures of Plants

RootsStemsLeavesFlowersSeeds

Roots

• Anchor plants

• Absorb

– Oxygen

– Water

– Nutrients

A Brief Note on Nutrition…

• Plants feed through their roots …almost exclusively

• Macronutrients –

• Micronutrients –

Mineral Nutrients

Macronutrient Symbol

• Carbon C

• Oxygen O

• Nitrogen N

Available as

• CO2(carbon dioxide) from

air

• O2 (oxygen gas) and CO2

from the air and in some

of the combined forms

listed below

• NO3 (nitrate salts such as

calcium nitrate or NH4

(ammonium salts, such

as ammonium sulfate

Mineral Nutrients

Macronutrient Symbol

• Phosphorus P

• Potassium K

• Sulfur S

• Calcium Ca

Available as

• PO4 (phosphate salts

such as potassium

phosphate)

• Potassium salts such as

potassium phosphate

• SO4 (sulfate salts such as

magnesium sulfate)

• Calcium salts such as

calcium nitrate

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Mineral Nutrients

Micronutrients Symbol

• Magnesium Mg

• Iron Fe

• Copper Cu

• Zinc Zn

Available as

• Magnesium salts such as

magnesium sulfate

• Iron (ferrous) salts such as

ferrous chloride

• Copper salts such as copper

sulfate

• Zinc salts such as zinc

sulfate

Mineral Nutrients

Micronutrients Symbol

• Manganese Mn

• Molybdenum Mo

• Boron B

Available as

• Manganese salts such as

manganous cholride

• Molybdenum salts such

as potassium molybdate

• Borates such as

potassium borate

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Root cross-section

Examples of Stem Structure Herbaceous monocot and dicot stem

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Leaves

• Are the center of food production in the plant– Photosynthesis and respiration occur there– Leaves are either simple (one blade) or

compound (multiple blades)

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Stomata

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One Plant – Two Distinct Shapes FLOWERS

Flowers

• Are sexual organs• Inflorescence• Perfect flower• Imperfect flower• Monoecious• Dioecious

The Flower

Seeds

• Allows for survival of a species into the next growing season

• Adapted to “recognize” ideal growing conditions• Source of energy for young, emerging plant

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Apical meristem: point of vigorous cell division and growth

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Photosynthesis

• Is the chemical process that creates complex sugars from water, carbon dioxide and sunlight.

• Photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplast• Chlorophyll is the green pigment that allows

photosynthesis to occur.

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RESPIRATIONThe transformation of stored chemical energy to usable

energy for growth and development

C6H12O6 plus O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy

TRANSPIRATIONThe uptake and release of liquids and gases,

especially water and CO2, by plants.

Important in the regulation of water within the plant

(wilt, turgor, stomatal activity, etc.)

Hormones

Chemical substances that control patterns of growth and development, and responses to environmental conditions

Influencing Plant Growth

Auxin – phototropism, gravitropism, apical dominance

Gibberellins – increased plant and fruit size

Cytokinins – cell division, sprouting

Dormin – accelerates abscission, promotes dormancy

Ethylene – fruit ripening, senescence

• Gardeners use hormones to induce flowering, fruiting, root cuttings, induce or break dormancy, ripen fruit or seeds, chemically “prune” plants, and control growth.

http://www.5min.com/Video/Plant-

Physiology-Phototropic-Response-

1354341

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References

Biology, by Miller and Levine, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2002

Botany: A Golden Guide, by Alexander, Burnett and Zim,

Golden Press, NY, 1970

Botany for Gardeners, by Capon, Timber Press, Portland, OR, 2005

Horticultural Science, by Jannick, Freeman and Co., San Francisco, CA, 1972

Plant Physiology, by Bidwell, MacMillan Publishing Co., NY, 1979