This document describes the classification and characteristics of vascular plants. It discusses how vascular plants have translocation systems made of phloem and xylem tubes that transport food and water. The key systems in vascular plants are also summarized, including roots that absorb water and nutrients, stems that support the plant and transport fluids, leaves that perform photosynthesis, and flowers, fruits, and seeds that reproduce the plant. Different types of fruits, seeds, and methods of seed dispersal are also outlined.

1. PLANTS

2. • There are many plants all over the world.
• They grow in many different kinds of habitats.
• The different habitats that plants grow in can give plants different
characteristics from each other.
• So there are many ways plants are classified.
• The first way of grouping to study is the two groups of the vascular and
the nonvascular plants.

3. VASCULAR PLANTS
• Vascular plants have a translocation system.
• The translocation system is a special system for sending food,
minerals, and water.
• It is a system that connects the leaves, stems, and roots.
•The translocation system has tubes that are divided into two
kinds.

4. 1. The phloem is on the outer part of the stem.
The phloem sends food materials such as sugars from the leaves,
where they are made and go to the other parts of the plant.
The phloem is always alive.
If a tree is cut you can often see sap come out of the tree and this
comes from the phloem.

5. 2. The xylem; these are the tubes that transport water throughout the plant.
The xylem tubes carry water from the roots up the plant to the leaves.
The xylem also supports the plant, meaning it helps the plant stand.
Xylem tissue die after one year and develop again.
These are the rings in the bark of the tree.
If you count the rings in the bark of the tree, you will know how many years
the tree has lived or how old the tree is.

6. SYSTEMS IN VASCULAR PLANTS
1. Roots
- the “mouth” of the plant
- attach the plant to the soil
- get water and nutrients needed for growth
- can also keep carbohydrates and sugars that the plant uses to
do other things
- has two kinds:
a. Taproot = example: carrots
b. Fibrous root = example: grass
Write 2 examples of Taproots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Write 2 examples of Fibrous roots. . . . . . . . . . . .

7. 2. Stems
- carry water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves
- carry the food made in the leaves to the other parts of the
plant
- support the plant by allowing the leaves to reach for the sun
- has two parts:
a. Node = where the leaves join the stem
b. Internode = space between the leaves

8. 3. Leaves
- the “food factory” of the plant
- where water and minerals are changed into food for the plant or where
photosynthesis happens
- have many different shapes and sizes
- catch light
- have openings (STOMATA) to allow water and air to come and go
- have veins that carry water and nutrients in the leaf
- have two kinds:
a. Simple = made of one leaf connected to the stem by a
petiole
b. Compound = made of many separate leaflets connected
to the stem by a petiole
- have a waxy cover (cuticle)

9. PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• “Photo” means light, “synthesis” means together
• Food making process of green plants
• Carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll and sunlight change into
glucose (plant sugar)
• Only happens in green plants
• Gives food to plants, and gives oxygen for other organisms

10. 5. Flowers
• Are important in making seeds
• Parts of the flower:
1. pistil = the female part
= has three parts:
a. Stigma – sticky part at the top of the pistil
- receives and catches pollen
b. Style – long and tubelike
- connects the stigma to the ovary
- is the place where the pollen tube grows
c. Ovary – has the female egg cells (ovules)
- when germination happens, it will become the fruit

11. 2. stamen = male part around the pistil
= has two parts:
a. Anther – produces and contains pollen (male
cells)
b. Filament - holds the anther up
- attaches the anther to the flower stem

12. 6. PETALS
• Petals are the most colorful part of the plant.
• They look like leaves but are not green.
• They are arranged in a circle, or a corolla, around the top of the flower
stem.
• They often have nectar and perfume at the bottom part of the flower.
• The color of the petals, the perfume, and the nectar help to attract
pollinators to the flower.

13. 7. SEPALS
• Sepals look like leaves and are usually green.
• They can be found under the flower, beneath the petals.
• Like the flower, the sepals support and protect the reproductive system
of the plant.
• Sepals also help to attract pollinators.
• They also cover the flower bud to protect the flower before it opens.

14. 8. Fruits
• Ripened ovary of the plant
• After fertilization, the ovary swells and becomes either fleshy or hard
and dry to protect the developing seeds.
• Many fruits help seeds spread.
GIVE TWO WAYS THAT FRUITS HELP SPREAD SEEDS.
• Some vegetables are really fruits.
GIVE TWO EXAMPLES OF VEGETABLES THAT ARE REALLY FRUITS.

15. KINDS OF FRUIT:
1. Simple fruits
Simple fruits come from flowers that have only one pistil.
For example: tomato, mango
2. Aggregate fruits
Aggregate fruits develop from flowers that have more than
one pistil.
For example: strawberry, raspberry

16. 3. Multiple fruits
Multiple fruits grow from not one flower, but a cluster of
flowers.
For example: pineapple, jackfruit
4. Accessory fruits
Accessory fruits develop from other parts of the plant but not
the ovary.
For example: strawberry, cashew, watermelon

17. 9. Seeds
•Seeds are the part of the plant that develop into a new plant.
•Seeds have a tiny plant (embryo) with leaves, stems and root
parts waiting for the right things to happen to make it grow.
•Seeds are protected by a coat which can be thin or thick and
hard.

18. •Seeds contain a short-term food supply (endosperm)
which is formed at fertilization but is not part of the
embryo.
•The endosperm is used by the embryo to help its growth.
•Seeds are a plant's way of getting from one area to
another.

19. SEED DISPERSAL:
1. Hydrochory
Seeds can move from one place to another by floating on
water.
The fruits that have these kinds of seeds are carried by water.

20. 2. Anemochory
• Seeds that look like helicopters and parachutes have the ability to float
or fly in the air.
• This kind of seed dispersal happens to small, light seeds.
• Some seeds have wings or other characteristics that are similar to hair
or feathers.

21. 3. Zoochory
• There are four ways that animals may help in seed dispersal.
1. The seeds have hooks or spikes that stick to the fur of animals.
The seeds fall far away from the original plant.
2. Animals eat the fruits, but the seeds cannot be
digested.
The seeds are removed from the body by
excretion.

22. 3. Animals may eat the fruits, and throw away the seeds.
The large seeds of fruits will be thrown away by animals that
eat them.
4. Some animals keep fruits or nuts.
Some animals save fruits and nuts for them to eat
afterwards, like during hibernation.
But sometimes the animals may forget about these fruits or
nuts, and the seeds will grow into plants.

23. 4. EXPLOSIONS
•Some plants disperse their own seeds.
•The pods dry up and split open suddenly.
•This makes the seeds pop out and fly a certain distance.