1.
Fluorescence
–
Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence, in most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation. Fluorescent materials cease to glow immediately when the radiation source stops, unlike phosphorescence, Fluorescence also occurs frequently in nature in some minerals and in various biological states in many branches of the animal kingdom. An early observation of fluorescence was described in 1560 by Bernardino de Sahagún and it was derived from the wood of two tree species, Pterocarpus indicus and Eysenhardtia polystachya. The chemical compound responsible for this fluorescence is matlaline, which is the product of one of the flavonoids found in this wood. The name was derived from the fluorite, some examples of which contain traces of divalent europium. In a key experiment he used a prism to isolate ultraviolet radiation from sunlight, the specific frequencies of exciting and emitted light are dependent on the particular system. S0 is called the state of the fluorophore, and S1 is its first excited singlet state. A molecule in S1 can relax by various competing pathways and it can undergo non-radiative relaxation in which the excitation energy is dissipated as heat to the solvent. Excited organic molecules can also relax via conversion to a triplet state, relaxation from S1 can also occur through interaction with a second molecule through fluorescence quenching. Molecular oxygen is an extremely efficient quencher of fluorescence just because of its unusual triplet ground state, in most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed radiation, this phenomenon is known as the Stokes shift. The emitted radiation may also be of the wavelength as the absorbed radiation. Molecules that are excited through light absorption or via a different process can transfer energy to a second sensitized molecule, the fluorescence quantum yield gives the efficiency of the fluorescence process. It is defined as the ratio of the number of photons emitted to the number of photons absorbed, Φ = Number of photons emitted Number of photons absorbed The maximum fluorescence quantum yield is 1.0, each photon absorbed results in a photon emitted. Compounds with quantum yields of 0.10 are still considered quite fluorescent, thus, if the rate of any pathway changes, both the excited state lifetime and the fluorescence quantum yield will be affected. Fluorescence quantum yields are measured by comparison to a standard, the quinine salt quinine sulfate in a sulfuric acid solution is a common fluorescence standard. The fluorescence lifetime refers to the time the molecule stays in its excited state before emitting a photon. This is an instance of exponential decay, various radiative and non-radiative processes can de-populate the excited state
Fluorescence
–
Fluorescent minerals emit visible light when exposed to
ultraviolet light
Fluorescence
–
Lignum nephriticum cup made from the wood of the narra tree (
Pterocarpus indicus), and a flask containing its fluorescent
solution
Fluorescence
–
Matlaline, the fluorescent substance in the wood of the tree Eysenhardtia polystachya
Fluorescence
–
Aequoria victoria, biofluorescent jellyfish known for GFP.
2.
Aloe hereroensis
–
Aloe hereroensis is an African Aloe native to Angola, Namibia and South Africa. Succulent plant Dressler, S. Schmidt, M. & Zizka, African plants – a Photo Guide
Aloe hereroensis
–
Aloe hereroensis
3.
Peduncle (botany)
–
In botany, a peduncle is a stem supporting an inflorescence, or after fecundation, an infructescence. The peduncle is a stem, usually green, though some peduncles are more or less florally colored or neutral in color, having no particular pigmentation. In some species, peduncles are leafless, though others bear leaves, or even cataphylls, at nodes. The peduncle may be ramified, in case the ramifications are called pedicels. When an unbranched peduncle has no obvious nodes, rises directly from a bulb or stem, the acorns of the pedunculate oak are borne on a long peduncle, hence the name of the tree
Peduncle (botany)
–
Agave with emergent peduncle. The flowers have not yet emerged from the buds. Note bracts and branches at nodes. Compare with
Papyrus
Peduncle (botany)
–
Long, magenta peduncles on an
American pokeweed, each supporting many small
pedicels.
Peduncle (botany)
–
Cyperus scapes. Contrast with peduncle of Agave
4.
Flower
–
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in plants that are floral. The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs, Flowers may facilitate outcrossing or allow selfing. Some flowers produce diaspores without fertilization, Flowers contain sporangia and are the site where gametophytes develop. Many flowers have evolved to be attractive to animals, so as to them to be vectors for the transfer of pollen. After fertilization, the ovary of the flower develops into fruit containing seeds, the essential parts of a flower can be considered in two parts, the vegetative part, consisting of petals and associated structures in the perianth, and the reproductive or sexual parts. A stereotypical flower consists of four kinds of structures attached to the tip of a short stalk, each of these kinds of parts is arranged in a whorl on the receptacle. The four main whorls are as follows, Collectively the calyx, corolla, the next whorl toward the apex, composed of units called petals, which are typically thin, soft and colored to attract animals that help the process of pollination. Androecium, the whorl, consisting of units called stamens. Stamens consist of two parts, a called a filament, topped by an anther where pollen is produced by meiosis. Gynoecium, the innermost whorl of a flower, consisting of one or more units called carpels, the carpel or multiple fused carpels form a hollow structure called an ovary, which produces ovules internally. Ovules are megasporangia and they in turn produce megaspores by meiosis which develop into female gametophytes and these give rise to egg cells. The gynoecium of a flower is described using an alternative terminology wherein the structure one sees in the innermost whorl is called a pistil. A pistil may consist of a carpel or a number of carpels fused together. The sticky tip of the pistil, the stigma, is the receptor of pollen, the supportive stalk, the style, becomes the pathway for pollen tubes to grow from pollen grains adhering to the stigma. The relationship to the gynoecium on the receptacle is described as hypogynous, perigynous, although the arrangement described above is considered typical, plant species show a wide variation in floral structure. These modifications have significance in the evolution of flowering plants and are used extensively by botanists to establish relationships among plant species, the four main parts of a flower are generally defined by their positions on the receptacle and not by their function. Many flowers lack some parts or parts may be modified into other functions and/or look like what is typically another part, in some families, like Ranunculaceae, the petals are greatly reduced and in many species the sepals are colorful and petal-like. Other flowers have modified stamens that are petal-like, the flowers of Peonies and Roses are mostly petaloid stamens
Flower
–
A poster with flowers or clusters of flowers produced by twelve species of flowering plants from different families
Flower
–
Main parts of a mature flower (
Ranunculus glaberrimus)
Flower
–
Reproductive parts of Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum). 1. Stigma, 2. Style, 3. Stamens, 4. Filament, 5. Petal
Flower
–
Left: A normal zygomorphic Streptocarpus flower. Right: An aberrant peloric Streptocarpus flower. Both of these flowers appeared on the Streptocarpus hybrid 'Anderson's Crows' Wings'.
5.
Plant stem
–
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. The stem is divided into nodes and internodes, The nodes hold one or more leaves. Adventitious roots may also be produced from the nodes, the internodes distance one node from another. The term shoots is often confused with stems, shoots generally refers to new plant growth including both stems and other structures like leaves or flowers. In most plants stems are located above the surface but some plants have underground stems. Stems have four main functions which are, Support for and the elevation of leaves, flowers, the stems keep the leaves in the light and provide a place for the plant to keep its flowers and fruits. Transport of fluids between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem Storage of nutrients Production of new living tissue, the normal lifespan of plant cells is one to three years. Stems have cells called meristems that annually generate new living tissue, Stems are often specialized for storage, asexual reproduction, protection or photosynthesis, including the following, Acaulescent – used to describe stems in plants that appear to be stemless. Actually these stems are just extremely short, the leaves appearing to rise out of the ground. Arborescent – tree like with woody stems normally with a single trunk, branched – aerial stems are described as being branched or unbranched Bud – an embryonic shoot with immature stem tip. Bulb – a short underground stem with fleshy storage leaves attached, e. g. onion, daffodil. Bulbs often function in reproduction by splitting to form new bulbs or producing small new bulbs termed bulblets, bulbs are a combination of stem and leaves so may better be considered as leaves because the leaves make up the greater part. Caespitose – when stems grow in a mass or clump or in low growing mats. Cladode – a flattened stem that appears more-or-less leaf like and is specialized for photosynthesis, climbing – stems that cling or wrap around other plants or structures. Corm – a short enlarged underground, storage stem, e. g. taro, decumbent – stems that lie flat on the ground and turn upwards at the ends. Fruticose – stems that grow shrublike with woody like habit, herbaceous – non woody, they die at the end of the growing season. Pedicel – stems that serve as the stalk of a flower in an inflorescence or infrutescence. Peduncle – a stem that supports an inflorescence Prickle – a sharpened extension of the outer layers
Plant stem
–
Stem showing internode and nodes plus leaf
petioles
Plant stem
–
This above-ground stem of
Polygonatum has lost its leaves, but is producing
adventitious roots from the nodes.
Plant stem
–
Flax stem cross-section, showing locations of underlying tissues. Ep =
epidermis; C =
cortex; BF =
bast fibres; P =
phloem; X =
xylem; Pi =
pith
Plant stem
–
Stems of two
Roystonea regia palms showing characteristic bulge, leaf scars and fibrous roots,
Kolkata, India
6.
Branch
–
A branch or tree branch is a woody structural member connected to but not part of the central trunk of a tree. Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs, due to a broad range of species of trees, branches and twigs can be seen in many different shapes and sizes. While branches can be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. The term twig often refers to a terminus, while bough refers only to branches coming directly from the trunk, because of the enormous quantity of branches in the world, there are a variety of names in English alone for them. In general however, unspecific words for a branch have been replaced by the branch itself. A bough can also be called a limb or arm, and though these are arguably metaphors, a crotch or fork is an area where a trunk splits into two or more boughs. A twig is frequently referred to as a sprig as well, other words for twig include branchlet, spray, and surcle, as well as the technical terms surculus and ramulus. Branches found under larger branches can be called underbranches, some branches from specific trees have their own names, such as osiers and withes or withies, which come from willows. Often trees have certain words which, in English, are naturally collocated, such as holly and mistletoe, similarly, the branch of a cherry tree is generally referred to as a cherry branch, while other such formations carry no such alliance. A good example of this versatility is oak, which could be referred to as variously an oak branch, an oaken branch, a branch of oak, or the branch of an oak. Once a branch has been cut or in any other way removed from its source, it is most commonly referred to as a stick, thin, flexible sticks are called switches, wands, shrags, or vimina. In Old English, there are words for branch, including seten, stofn, telgor. There are also numerous words, such as blēd, bōgincel, ōwæstm. Numerous other words for twigs and boughs abound, including tān, latin words for branch are ramus or cladus. The second term is a found in other modern words such as cladodonts or cladogram. Basal shoot Plant stem Root Shoot Stolon Switch Trunk Turion Twig Wand
Branch
–
Tree branches of several sizes.
Branch
–
The branches and leaves of a tree.
Branch
–
Looking up into the branch structure of a
Pinus sylvestris tree
7.
Morphology (biology)
–
Morphology is a branch of biology dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features. This includes aspects of the appearance, i. e. external morphology, as well as the form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs. This is in contrast to physiology, which deals primarily with function, Morphology is a branch of life science dealing with the study of gross structure of an organism or taxon and its component parts. The word morphology is from the Ancient Greek don, morphé, meaning form, among other important theorists of morphology are Lorenz Oken, Georges Cuvier, Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, Richard Owen, Karl Gegenbaur and Ernst Haeckel. In English-speaking countries, the term molecular morphology has been used for time for describing the structure of compound molecules, such as polymers. Comparative Morphology is analysis of the patterns of the locus of structures within the plan of an organism. Functional Morphology is the study of the relationship between the structure and function of morphological features, experimental Morphology is the study of the effects of external factors upon the morphology of organisms under experimental conditions, such as the effect of genetic mutation. Anatomy is a branch of morphology that deals with the structure of organisms, most taxa differ morphologically from other taxa. Typically, closely related taxa differ much less than more distantly related ones, cryptic species are species which look very similar, or perhaps even outwardly identical, but are reproductively isolated. Conversely, sometimes unrelated taxa acquire a similar appearance as a result of convergent evolution or even mimicry, in addition, there can be morphological differences within a species, such as in Apoica flavissima where queens are significantly smaller than workers. A further problem with relying on morphological data is that what may appear, morphologically speaking, the significance of these differences can be examined through the use of allometric engineering in which one or both species are manipulated to phenocopy the other species. Invention and development of microscopy enable the observation of 3-D cell morphology with both spatial and temporal resolution. The dynamic processes of cell morphology which are controlled by a complex system play an important role in varied important biological process, such as immune. Comparative anatomy Insect morphology Morphometrics Neuromorphology Phenetics Phenotype Phenotypic plasticity Plant morphology
Morphology (biology)
–
Morphology of a male
Caprella mutica
8.
Shoot
–
In botany, shoots consist of stems including their appendages, the leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop, in the spring, perennial plant shoots are the new growth that grows from the ground in herbaceous plants or the new stem or flower growth that grows on woody plants. In everyday speech, shoots are often synonymous with stems, stems, which are an integral component of shoots, provide an axis for buds, fruits, and leaves. Young shoots are eaten by animals because the fibres in the new growth have not yet completed secondary cell wall development, making the young shoots softer and easier to chew. As shoots grow and age, the cells develop secondary cell walls that have a hard, some plants produce toxins that make their shoots inedible or less palatable. Many woody plants have distinct short shoots and long shoots, in some angiosperms, the short shoots, also called spur shoots or fruit spurs, produce the majority of flowers and fruit. A similar pattern occurs in some conifers and in Ginkgo, although the short shoots of some such as Picea are so small that they can be mistaken for part of the leaf that they have produced. A related phenomenon is seasonal heterophylly, which involves visibly different leaves from spring growth, whereas spring growth mostly comes from buds formed the previous season, and often includes flowers, lammas growth often involves long shoots
Shoot
–
The shoot of a
cucumber
Shoot
–
Edible shoots of
Sachaline
Shoot
–
Sunflower seedlings
germinate
Shoot
–
A young
hass avocado shoot
9.
Spermatophytes
–
The spermatophytes, also known as phanerogams or phenogamae, comprise those plants that produce seeds, hence the alternative name seed plants. They are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants and these terms distinguished those plants with hidden sexual organs from those with visible sexual organs. In addition to the taxa listed above, the record contains evidence of many extinct taxa of seed plants. The so-called seed ferns were one of the earliest successful groups of land plants, glossopteris was the most prominent tree genus in the ancient southern supercontinent of Gondwana during the Permian period. A whole genome duplication event in the ancestor of seed plants occurred about 319 million years ago and this gave rise to a series of evolutionary changes that resulted in the origin of seed plants. A middle Devonian precursor to seed plants from Belgium has been identified predating the earliest seed plants by about 20 million years, runcaria, small and radially symmetrical, is an integumented megasporangium surrounded by a cupule. The megasporangium bears an unopened distal extension protruding above the mutlilobed integument and it is suspected that the extension was involved in anemophilous pollination. Runcaria sheds new light on the sequence of character acquisition leading to the seed, runcaria has all of the qualities of seed plants except for a solid seed coat and a system to guide the pollen to the seed. Seed-bearing plants were divided into angiosperms, or flowering plants, and gymnosperms, which includes the gnetophytes, cycads, ginkgo. Older morphological studies believed in a relationship between the gnetophytes and the angiosperms, in particular based on vessel elements. However, molecular studies have shown a clade of gymnosperms. For example, one common proposed set of relationships is known as the hypothesis and looks like, However
Spermatophytes
–
Seed Plants Temporal range:
Devonian? or earlier to recent
10.
Internode (botany)
–
A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant, the other being the root. The stem is divided into nodes and internodes, The nodes hold one or more leaves. Adventitious roots may also be produced from the nodes, the internodes distance one node from another. The term shoots is often confused with stems, shoots generally refers to new plant growth including both stems and other structures like leaves or flowers. In most plants stems are located above the surface but some plants have underground stems. Stems have four main functions which are, Support for and the elevation of leaves, flowers, the stems keep the leaves in the light and provide a place for the plant to keep its flowers and fruits. Transport of fluids between the roots and the shoots in the xylem and phloem Storage of nutrients Production of new living tissue, the normal lifespan of plant cells is one to three years. Stems have cells called meristems that annually generate new living tissue, Stems are often specialized for storage, asexual reproduction, protection or photosynthesis, including the following, Acaulescent – used to describe stems in plants that appear to be stemless. Actually these stems are just extremely short, the leaves appearing to rise out of the ground. Arborescent – tree like with woody stems normally with a single trunk, branched – aerial stems are described as being branched or unbranched Bud – an embryonic shoot with immature stem tip. Bulb – a short underground stem with fleshy storage leaves attached, e. g. onion, daffodil. Bulbs often function in reproduction by splitting to form new bulbs or producing small new bulbs termed bulblets, bulbs are a combination of stem and leaves so may better be considered as leaves because the leaves make up the greater part. Caespitose – when stems grow in a mass or clump or in low growing mats. Cladode – a flattened stem that appears more-or-less leaf like and is specialized for photosynthesis, climbing – stems that cling or wrap around other plants or structures. Corm – a short enlarged underground, storage stem, e. g. taro, decumbent – stems that lie flat on the ground and turn upwards at the ends. Fruticose – stems that grow shrublike with woody like habit, herbaceous – non woody, they die at the end of the growing season. Pedicel – stems that serve as the stalk of a flower in an inflorescence or infrutescence. Peduncle – a stem that supports an inflorescence Prickle – a sharpened extension of the outer layers
Internode (botany)
–
Stem showing internode and nodes plus leaf
petioles
Internode (botany)
–
This above-ground stem of
Polygonatum has lost its leaves, but is producing
adventitious roots from the nodes.
Internode (botany)
–
Flax stem cross-section, showing locations of underlying tissues. Ep =
epidermis; C =
cortex; BF =
bast fibres; P =
phloem; X =
xylem; Pi =
pith
Internode (botany)
–
Stems of two
Roystonea regia palms showing characteristic bulge, leaf scars and fibrous roots,
Kolkata, India
11.
Phyllotaxis
–
In botany, phyllotaxis or phyllotaxy is the arrangement of leaves on a plant stem. Phyllotactic spirals form a class of patterns in nature. The basic arrangements of leaves on a stem are opposite, or alternate = spiral, leaves may also be whorled if several leaves arise, or appear to arise, from the same level on a stem. This arrangement is unusual on plants except for those with particularly short internodes. Examples of trees with whorled phyllotaxis are Brabejum stellatifolium and the related Macadamia genus, with an opposite leaf arrangement, two leaves arise from the stem at the same level, on opposite sides of the stem. An opposite leaf pair can be thought of as a whorl of two leaves, with an alternate pattern, each leaf arises at a different point on the stem. Examples include various bulbous plants such as Boophone and it also occurs in other plant habits such as those of Gasteria or Aloe seedlings, and also in some mature Aloe species such as Aloe plicatilis. In an opposite pattern, if successive leaf pairs are 90 degrees apart and it is common in members of the family Crassulaceae Decussate phyllotaxis also occurs in the Aizoaceae. A whorl can occur as a structure where all the leaves are attached at the base of the shoot. A basal whorl with a number of leaves spread out in a circle is called a rosette. A repeating spiral can be represented by a fraction describing the angle of windings leaf per leaf, alternate distichous leaves will have an angle of 1/2 of a full rotation. In beech and hazel the angle is 1/3, in oak and apricot it is 2/5, in sunflowers, poplar, and pear, it is 3/8, the numerator and denominator normally consist of a Fibonacci number and its second successor. The number of leaves is called rank, in the case of simple Fibonacci ratios. With larger Fibonacci pairs, the pattern becomes complex and non-repeating and this tends to occur with a basal configuration. Examples can be found in flowers and seed heads. The most famous example is the sunflower head and this phyllotactic pattern creates an optical effect of criss-crossing spirals. In the botanical literature, these designs are described by the number of counter-clockwise spirals and these also turn out to be Fibonacci numbers. In some cases, the appear to be multiples of Fibonacci numbers because the spirals consist of whorls
Phyllotaxis
–
Crisscrossing spirals of
Aloe polyphylla
Phyllotaxis
–
Veronicastrum virginicum has whorls of leaves separated by long internodes.
Phyllotaxis
–
Distichous leaf arrangement in
Clivia
Phyllotaxis
–
Decussate phyllotaxis of Crassula rupestris
12.
Connation
–
Connation in plants is the developmental fusion of organs of the same type, for example, petals to one another to form a tubular corolla. This is in contrast to adnation, the fusion of dissimilar organs, such organs are described as connate or adnate, respectively. When like organs that are well separated are placed next to each other. Synsepalous, All the sepals of a flower are fused into a cup or tube, sympetalous, All the petals of a flower are fused into a cup, tube, or other shape. An apopetalous corolla has free, unfused petals
Connation
–
The stamens of this
Hibiscus are synfilamentous.
Connation
–
Synanthery in a (dissected) flower of Sinningia cardinalis
13.
Pedicel (botany)
–
A pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. In the absence of a pedicel, the flowers are described as sessile, pedicel is also applied to the stem of the infructescence. The stem or branch from the stem of the inflorescence that holds a group of pedicels is called a peduncle
Pedicel (botany)
–
The inflorescence of
Delphinium nuttallianum. Each flower is held on a pedicel a few centimeters long.
14.
Pseudanthium
–
The individual flowers of a pseudanthium commonly are called florets. The real flowers are small and often greatly reduced. Pseudanthia are characteristic of the daisy and sunflower family, whose flowers are differentiated into ray flowers and disk flowers, the disk flowers in the center of the pseudanthium are actinomorphic and the corolla is fused into a tube. Flowers on the periphery are zygomorphic and the corolla has one large lobe, either ray or disk flowers may be absent in some plants, Senecio vulgaris lacks ray flowers and Taraxacum officinale lacks disk flowers. The pseudanthium has a whorl of bracts below the flowers, forming an involucre, in all cases, a pseudanthium is superficially indistinguishable from a flower, but closer inspection of its anatomy will reveal that it is composed of multiple flowers. Head This is an equivalent term for head and pseudanthium when used in the botanical sense. Capitulum Capitulum can be used as a synonym for pseudanthium and flower head, however its use is generally. At least one source defines it as a flower head. In addition to its use as a term meaning flower head it is also used to mean the top of the sphagnum plant. Calathid This is a rarely used term. It was defined in the 1966 book, The genera of flowering plants, however, on-line botanical glossaries do not define it and Google Scholar does not link to any significant usage of the term in a botanical sense. Possible pseudanthia of this type may occur in the following families, Hydatellaceae Lemnaceae Pandanaceae Triuridaceae Phyllanthaceae
Pseudanthium
–
What appear to be "petals" of an individual flower, are actually each individual complete
ray flowers, and at the center is a dense pack of individual tiny
disc flowers. Because the collection has the overall appearance of a single flower, the collection of flowers in the head of this
sunflower is called a pseudanthium.
Pseudanthium
–
Peace Lily (
Spathiphyllum cochlearispathum) pseudanthium
Pseudanthium
–
Diagram of a flower head. Note bracts surrounding the flowers, which would be absent on a capitulum.
Pseudanthium
–
Flower head of a
common daisy (Bellis perennis)
15.
Fruit
–
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate seeds, accordingly, fruits account for a substantial fraction of the worlds agricultural output, and some have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings. On the other hand, in usage, fruit includes many structures that are not commonly called fruits, such as bean pods, corn kernels, tomatoes. The section of a fungus that produces spores is called a fruiting body. Many common terms for seeds and fruit do not correspond to the botanical classifications, however, in botany, a fruit is the ripened ovary or carpel that contains seeds, a nut is a type of fruit and not a seed, and a seed is a ripened ovule. Examples of culinary vegetables and nuts that are botanically fruit include corn, cucurbits, eggplant, legumes, sweet pepper, in addition, some spices, such as allspice and chili pepper, are fruits, botanically speaking. g. Botanically, a grain, such as corn, rice, or wheat, is also a kind of fruit. However, the wall is very thin and is fused to the seed coat. The outer, often edible layer, is the pericarp, formed from the ovary and surrounding the seeds, the pericarp may be described in three layers from outer to inner, the epicarp, mesocarp and endocarp. Fruit that bears a prominent pointed terminal projection is said to be beaked, a fruit results from maturation of one or more flowers, and the gynoecium of the flower forms all or part of the fruit. Inside the ovary/ovaries are one or more ovules where the megagametophyte contains the egg cell, after double fertilization, these ovules will become seeds. The ovules are fertilized in a process starts with pollination. After pollination, a tube grows from the pollen through the stigma into the ovary to the ovule, later the zygote will give rise to the embryo of the seed, and the endosperm mother cell will give rise to endosperm, a nutritive tissue used by the embryo. As the ovules develop into seeds, the ovary begins to ripen and the ovary wall, in some multiseeded fruits, the extent to which the flesh develops is proportional to the number of fertilized ovules. The pericarp is often differentiated into two or three distinct layers called the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp, in some fruits, especially simple fruits derived from an inferior ovary, other parts of the flower, fuse with the ovary and ripen with it. In other cases, the sepals, petals and/or stamens and style of the fall off. When such other floral parts are a significant part of the fruit, it is called an accessory fruit, since other parts of the flower may contribute to the structure of the fruit, it is important to study flower structure to understand how a particular fruit forms. There are three modes of fruit development, Apocarpous fruits develop from a single flower having one or more separate carpels
Fruit
–
Culinary fruits
Fruit
–
Several
culinary fruits
Fruit
–
Mixed fruit
Fruit
–
Fruit shop in
Naggar,
Himachal Pradesh,
India
16.
Infructescence
–
Infructescence is defined as the ensemble of fruits derived from the ovaries of an inflorescence. It usually retains the size and structure of the inflorescence, in some cases, infructescences are similar in appearance to simple fruits. One example is the infructescence of Ananas, which is formed from the fusion of the berries with receptacle tissues, the mature infructescence of a grain, such as wheat or corn, is known as an ear. The infructescence of Ficus is called a syconium
Infructescence
–
Ananas infructescence
Infructescence
–
Vitis infructescence
Infructescence
–
An
ear of grain
17.
Panicle
–
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. Some authors distinguish it from a spike, by requiring that the flowers be pedicellate. The branches of a panicle are often racemes, a panicle may have determinate or indeterminate growth. This type of inflorescence is largely characteristic of such as oat and crabgrass, as well as other plants such as pistachio. Botanists use the term paniculate in two ways, having a true panicle inflorescence as well as having an inflorescence with the form but not necessarily the structure of a panicle. A corymb may have a branching structure, with the lower flowers having longer pedicels than the upper. Many species in the Maloideae, such as hawthorns and rowans, thyrse, a branched inflorescence where the main axis has indeterminate growth, and the branches have determinate growth
Panicle
–
Litchi chinensis flowers form a panicle.
Panicle
–
White-fruited
Rowan (
Sorbus glabrescens) corymb: the branched structures holding the fruit.
18.
Raceme
–
A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing pedicellate flowers—flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels—along its axis. In botany, an axis means a shoot, in case one bearing the flowers. In indeterminate inflorescence-like racemes, the oldest flowers are borne towards the base and new flowers are produced as the shoot grows, a plant that flowers on a showy raceme may have this reflected in its scientific name, e. g. Cimicifuga racemosa. A compound raceme, also called a panicle, has a main axis. Examples of racemes occur on mustard and radish plants, a spike is an unbranched, indeterminate inflorescence, similar to a raceme, but bearing sessile flowers. Examples occur on Malabar nut and chaff flowers, a true spikelet comprises one or more florets enclosed by two glumes, with flowers and glumes arranged in two opposite rows along the spikelet. Examples occur on rice and wheat, both grasses, an ament or catkin is very similar to a spike or raceme, but with subtending bracts so conspicuous as to conceal the flowers until pollination, as in the pussy–willow, alder, birch. These are sometimes called amentaceous plants, a spadix is a form of spike in which the florets are densely crowded along a fleshy axis, and enclosed by one or more large, brightly–colored bracts called spathes. Usually the female flowers grow at the base, and male flowers grow above and they are a characteristic of the Araceae family, for example jack–in–the–pull it and wild calla. From classical Latin racemus, cluster of grapes
Raceme
–
The inflorescence of
Spathoglottis plicata, a
terrestrial orchid, is a typical raceme
Raceme
Raceme
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Every radiating unit in this inflorescence of a
Cyperus sedge is a spikelet composed of small flowers (florets) arranged in two ranks
19.
Vegetation
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Vegetation is assemblages of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent. It is broader than the flora which refers to species composition. Perhaps the closest synonym is plant community, but vegetation can, primeval redwood forests, coastal mangrove stands, sphagnum bogs, desert soil crusts, roadside weed patches, wheat fields, cultivated gardens and lawns, all are encompassed by the term vegetation. The vegetation type is defined by characteristic dominant species, or an aspect of the assemblage. The contemporary use of vegetation approximates that of ecologist Frederic Clements term earth cover, Natural vegetation refers to plant life undisturbed by humans in its growth and which is controlled by the climatic conditions of that region. The distinction between vegetation and flora was first made by Jules Thurmann, prior to this, the two terms were used indiscriminately, and still are in some contexts. Augustin de Candolle also made a distinction, but he used the terms station and habitation. Later, the concept of vegetation would influence the usage of the term biome, other concepts similar to vegetation are physiognomy of vegetation and formation. Departing from Linnean taxonomy, Humboldt established a new science, dividing plant geography between taxonomists who studied plants as taxa and geographers who studied plants as vegetation. The physiognomic approach in the study of vegetation is common among biogeographers working on vegetation on a world scale, the concept vegetation type is more ambiguous. For some authors, it includes, besides physiognomy, floristic, furthermore, the phytosociological approach in the study of vegetation relies upon a fundamental unit, the plant association, which is defined upon flora. An influential, clear and simple scheme for types of vegetation was produced by Wagner & von Sydow. Like all the systems, plant communities are temporally and spatially dynamic. Dynamism in vegetation is defined primarily as changes in species composition and/or vegetation structure, temporally, a large number of processes or events can cause change, but for sake of simplicity they can be categorized roughly as either abrupt or gradual. Abrupt changes are referred to as disturbances, these include things like wildfires, high winds, landslides, floods, avalanches. Their causes are external to the community—they are natural processes occurring independently of the natural processes of the community. Such events can change vegetation structure and composition very quickly and for time periods
Vegetation
20.
Bract
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In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves and they may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture. Typically, they look different from the parts of the flower. The state of having bracts is referred to as bracteate or bracteolate, some bracts are brightly colored and serve the function of attracting pollinators, either together with the perianth or instead of it. Examples of this type of bract include Euphorbia pulcherrima and Bougainvillea, in grasses, each floret is enclosed in a pair of papery bracts, called the lemma and palea, while each spikelet has a further pair of bracts at its base called glumes. These bracts form the chaff removed from cereal grain during threshing and winnowing, bats may detect acoustic signals from dish-shaped bracts such as those of Marcgravia evenia. A prophyll is a structure, such as a bracteole. The term can mean the lower bract on a peduncle. The frequently showy pair of bracts of Euphorbia species in subgenus Lacanthis are the cyathophylls, bracts subtend the cone scales in the seed cones of many conifers, and in some cases, such as Pseudotsuga, they extend beyond the cone scales. A small bract is called a bracteole or bractlet, technically this is any bract that arises on a pedicel instead of subtending it. Bracts that appear in a whorl subtending an inflorescence are called an involucre. An involucre is a common feature beneath the inflorescences of many Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Dipsacaceae and Polygonaceae, each flower in an inflorescence may have its own whorl of bracts, in this case called an involucel. In this case they may be called chaff, paleas, or receptacular bracts and are usually minute scales or bristles, many asteraceous plants have bracts at the base of each inflorescence. The term involucre is also used for a highly conspicuous bract or bract pair at the base of an inflorescence, in the family Betulaceae, notably in the genera Carpinus and Corylus, the involucre is a leafy structure that protects the developing nuts. Beggar-tick has narrow involucral bracts surrounding each inflorescence, each of which also has a bract below it. There is then a pair of bracts on the main stem. It is a calyx-like extra whorl of floral appendages, each individual segment of the epicalyx is called an episepal because they resemble the sepals. They are present in family Malvaceae, the Hibiscus family, fragaria may or may not have an epicalyx
Bract
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Papery (upper) and leafy bracts on hay rattle (
Rhinanthus minor). All the "leaves" in this image are bracts.
Bract
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Bracts of
Bougainvillea glabra, differ in colour from the non-bract leaves, and attract pollinators
Bract
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Bracts along a
banana flower stalk surround the rows of flowers
Bract
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Euphorbia milii var. vulcanii cyathia bearing a pair of pinkish cyathophylls
21.
Asteraceae
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Asteraceae or Compositae is a very large and widespread family of flowering plants. The family currently has 32,913 accepted species names, in 1,911 genera and 13 subfamilies, in terms of numbers of species, the Asteraceae are rivaled only by the Orchidaceae. Many members have composite flowers in the form of flower heads surrounded by involucral bracts, when viewed from a distance, each capitulum may have the appearance of being a single flower. The name Asteraceae comes from the type genus Aster, from the Greek ἀστήρ, meaning star, Compositae is an older but still valid name which refers to the fact that the family is one of the few angiosperm ones to have composite flowers. Most members of Asteraceae are herbaceous, but a significant number are also shrubs, vines, the family has a worldwide distribution, from the polar regions to the tropics, colonizing a wide variety of habitats. It is most common in the arid and semiarid regions of subtropical, the Asteraceae may represent as much as 10% of autochthonous flora in many regions of the world. Asteraceae is an important family, providing products such as cooking oils, lettuce, sunflower seeds, artichokes, sweetening agents, coffee substitutes. Several genera are of importance, including pot marigold, Calendula officinalis, Echinacea, various daisies, fleabane, chrysanthemums, dahlias, zinnias. Asteraceae are important in medicine, including Grindelia, yarrow. A number of species are considered invasive, including, most notably in North America, dandelion, the name Asteraceae comes to international scientific vocabulary from New Latin, from Aster, the type genus, + -aceae, a standardized suffix for plant family names in modern taxonomy. The genus name comes from the Classical Latin word aster, star, Compositae, an older but still valid name, means composite and refers to the characteristic inflorescence, a special type of pseudanthium found in only a few other angiosperm families. The study of family is known as synantherology. The vernacular name daisy, widely applied to members of family, is derived from its Old English name, dægesege, from dæges eage. This is because the open at dawn and close at dusk. Composite flowers have a distribution, and are found everywhere except Antarctica. They are especially numerous in tropical and subtropical regions, Compositae were first described in 1792 by the German botanist Paul Dietrich Giseke. Traditionally, two subfamilies were recognised, Asteroideae and Cichorioideae, the latter has been shown to be extensively paraphyletic, and has now been divided into 12 subfamilies, but the former still stands. The phylogenetic tree presented below is based on Panero & Funk updated in 2014, the diamond denotes a very poorly supported node, the dot a poorly supported node
Asteraceae
Asteraceae
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A typical Asteraceae flower head (here
Bidens torta) showing the individual flowers
Asteraceae
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Disc floret (as in Asteroideae)
Asteraceae
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Seeds are dispersed by the wind in
Carlina.
22.
Wisteria sinensis
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Wisteria sinensis is a woody, deciduous, perennial climbing vine in the genus Wisteria, native to China in the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Yunnan. While this plant is a vine, it can be trained into a tree-like shape, usually with a wavy trunk. It can grow 20–30 m long over supporting trees by counterclockwise-twining stems, the leaves are shiny, green, pinnately compound, 10–30 cm in length, with 9-13 oblong leaflets that are each 2–6 cm long. The flowers are white, violet, or blue, produced on 15–20 cm racemes before the leaves emerge in spring, the flowers on each raceme open simultaneously before the foliage has expanded, and have a distinctive fragrance similar to that of grapes. Though it has shorter racemes than Wisteria floribunda, it often has a quantity of racemes. However seed production is low, and most regenerative growth occurs through layering and suckering. It is hardy in USDA plant hardiness zones 5-9, and prefers moist soils and it is considered shade tolerant, but will flower only when exposed to partial or full sun. It will also flower only after passing from juvenile to adult stage and it can live for over a hundred years. All parts of the plant contain a glycoside called wisterin which is toxic if ingested and may cause nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, wisterias have caused poisoning in children of many countries, producing mild to severe gastroenteritis. Captain Richard Rawes of the East Indiaman Warren Hastings brought it from China to Britain in 1816, from where it spread to Europe and it has secured for itself a place as one of the most popular vines for home gardens due to its flowering. It has however become a species in some areas of the eastern United States where the climate closely matches that of China. A one-acre specimen located in Sierra Madre, California is recognized by Guinness World Records as the worlds largest blossoming plant, jiang, Yifan, Chen, Xinlu, Lin, Hong. Floral Scent in Wisteria, Chemical Composition, Emission Pattern, journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. Zhang, Shu-yong, Xia, Jiang-bao, Zhou, Ze-fu, Zhang, photosynthesis responses to various soil moisture in leaves of Wisteria sinensis
Wisteria sinensis
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Wisteria sinensis
Wisteria sinensis
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Wisteria sinensis as a weed in South Carolina, U.S.A.
23.
Pedicularis verticillata
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The plant is perennial and is 15–35 centimetres high. The stems are erect at the center and have hairs which come in four lines and it leaves carry 3 centimetres long petioles which are white coloured while its leaf-blades are oblong, lanceolate and are 2. 5–3 centimetres by 1–1.2 centimetres. Both stem and basal leaves are of the same length while the calyx is red and is 6 millimetres long and is ovoid. Raceme is inflorescent and dense, with coloured flowers. It corolla is of purple colour and is 1.3 centimetres with right tube being bent, the galea is falcate,5 millimetres long and rounded at the front. The plant capsule is 1–1.5 centimetres by 4–5 millimetres, Pedicularis lanata Pedicularis sudetica Description of how plant blooms and photos of it every day life on Alaska Wildflowers
Pedicularis verticillata
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Pedicularis verticillata
24.
Rhinanthus angustifolius
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Rhinanthus angustifolius or Greater Yellow-rattle is a Lamiales plant species of the genus Rhinanthus. It is a wildflower native to temperate grasslands in much of Europe. The yellow flowers are visited by bumblebees. Middle Europe, Austria, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Asia Western Asia, Turkey Caucasus, Transcaucasus, in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. Ciscaucasia, in the Russian Federations Eurasian North Caucasian Federal District oblasts and republics, including Chechnya, the Sochi region in Krasnodar Krai, pontic-Caspian steppe, western Kazakhstan, the Russian Federations central-western Asian Southern Federal District oblasts and republics, including Kalmykia Republic and Volgograd. West Siberian Plain, the Russian Federations northwestern Asia region of the western Siberian Federal District, including the Oblasts of Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, Alectorolophus glaber Beck Alectorolophus montanus Frits Rhinanthus apterus Rhinanthus glaber Lam. Rhinanthus major Rhinanthus montanus Sauter Rhinanthus parviflorus Noulet Rhinanthus reichenbachii Bentham in DC, Rhinanthus serotinus Oborny Rhinanthus vernalis Schischk. Wildflowers - Rhinanthus angustifolius - website page
Rhinanthus angustifolius
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Rhinanthus angustifolius
25.
Aristolochia clematitis
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Aristolochia clematitis, the birthwort, is a twining herbaceous plant in the Aristolochiaceae family, which is native to Europe. The leaves are shaped and the flowers are pale yellow. The plant seeks light by ascending the stems of surrounding plants and it was formerly used as a medicinal plant, though it is poisonous, and is now occasionally found established outside of its native range as a relic of cultivation. Urinary tract malignacies among those who have consumed the plant are also reported, after a few months, some of the patients experienced kidney failure
Aristolochia clematitis
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Aristolochia clematitis
Aristolochia clematitis
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Aristolochia clematitis -
MHNT
26.
Monopodial
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Vascular plants with monopodial growth habits grow upward from a single point. They add leaves to the each year and the stem grows longer accordingly. The word Monopodial is derived from Greek mono-, one and podial, foot and they do not have a rhizome or pseudobulbs so species adapted to dry periods have fleshy succulent leaves instead. Flowers generally come from the stem between the leaves, with some monopodial species, the stem might fork into two, but for all monopodial orchids this is not necessary for continued growth, as opposed to orchids with sympodial growth
Monopodial
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Orchid showing monopodial form of growth.
27.
Racemose
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A raceme is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing pedicellate flowers—flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels—along its axis. In botany, an axis means a shoot, in case one bearing the flowers. In indeterminate inflorescence-like racemes, the oldest flowers are borne towards the base and new flowers are produced as the shoot grows, a plant that flowers on a showy raceme may have this reflected in its scientific name, e. g. Cimicifuga racemosa. A compound raceme, also called a panicle, has a main axis. Examples of racemes occur on mustard and radish plants, a spike is an unbranched, indeterminate inflorescence, similar to a raceme, but bearing sessile flowers. Examples occur on Malabar nut and chaff flowers, a true spikelet comprises one or more florets enclosed by two glumes, with flowers and glumes arranged in two opposite rows along the spikelet. Examples occur on rice and wheat, both grasses, an ament or catkin is very similar to a spike or raceme, but with subtending bracts so conspicuous as to conceal the flowers until pollination, as in the pussy–willow, alder, birch. These are sometimes called amentaceous plants, a spadix is a form of spike in which the florets are densely crowded along a fleshy axis, and enclosed by one or more large, brightly–colored bracts called spathes. Usually the female flowers grow at the base, and male flowers grow above and they are a characteristic of the Araceae family, for example jack–in–the–pull it and wild calla. From classical Latin racemus, cluster of grapes
Racemose
–
The inflorescence of
Spathoglottis plicata, a
terrestrial orchid, is a typical raceme
Racemose
–
Every radiating unit in this inflorescence of a
Cyperus sedge is a spikelet composed of small flowers (florets) arranged in two ranks
28.
Indeterminate growth
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In biology and botany, indeterminate growth is growth that is not terminated in contrast to determinate growth that stops once a genetically pre-determined structure has completely formed. Thus, a plant that grows and produces flowers and fruit until killed by frost or some external factor is called indeterminate. In reference to an inflorescence, a type is one in which the first flowers to develop and open are from the buds at the base. The growth of the shoot is not impeded by the opening of the flowers or development of fruits and its appearance is of growing, producing. Not all plants produce indeterminate inflorescences however, some produce a terminal flower that terminates the development of new buds towards the tip of that inflorescence. In most species produce a determinate inflorescence in this way, all of the flower buds are formed before the first ones begin to open. In some species with determinate inflorescences however, the flower blooms first, which stops the elongation of the main axis. One type of example is Dianthus another type is exemplified by Allium, in zoology, indeterminate growth refers to the condition where animals grow rapidly when young, and continue to grow after reaching adulthood although at a slower pace. It is common in fish, amphibians, reptiles, and many molluscs, the term also refers to the pattern of hair growth sometimes seen in humans and a few domestic breeds, where hair continues to grow in length until it is cut. Some mushrooms – notably Cantharellus californicus – also exhibit indeterminate growth
Indeterminate growth
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This inflorescence of the
terrestrial orchid Spathoglottis plicata shows indeterminate growth; note that the opening of flowers and production of fruits is proceeding upwards on the shoot.
Indeterminate growth
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Cymose determinate inflorescences a. Myosotis b. Cerastium (dichasium) c. Sedum (scorpioid cyme) d. Scirpus lacustris (compound cyme) e. Dianthus (fascicle) f. Chenopodium album (sessile flowers in cymes) g. Salvia officinalis (cymule)
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Media related to Inflorescence at Wikimedia Commons
