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Alternation of Generations
The fluctuation between the diploid (sporophyte) and haploid (gametophyte) life stages that occurs in plants.
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Angiosperm
A vascular flowering plant in which seeds are enclosed inside of protective ovaries.
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Autotroph
An organism that synthesizes its own organic nutrients and does not rely on other organisms for food.
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Bryophyte
A lower terrestrial plant (often a moss or liverwort) that lacks a vascular system and is dependent on environmental moisture for reproductive and nutritive functions.
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Bulb
Roughly spherical underground bud containing additional buds that can develop asexually into new plants.
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Chlorophyll
A green pigment, necessary for photosynthesis, that is found in the chloroplasts of plants.
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Dicot
An flowering plant (angiosperm) that possesses two cotyledons during embryonic development.
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Diploid
Having two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent.
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Gamete
A haploid sex cell (either an egg or sperm cell); male and female gametes join during fertilization to create a diploid zygote.
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Gametophyte
A haploid plant or plant structure that produces haploid gametes through mitosis.
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Grafting
An artificial form of vegetative propagation in which parts of two young plants are joined together, first by artificial means and then by tissue regeneration.
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Gymnosperm
A vascular non-flowering plant (commonly known as a conifer) in which seeds are not protected by an ovary.
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Haploid
Having only one set of chromosomes.
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Hormone
A chemical that affects the ways in which an organism functions; it is produced in one part of the plant body but, by traveling to target cells throughout the body, affects many other parts as well.
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Jacket Cell
A component of the cell layer that covers the reproductive organs of plants and prevents them from drying out.
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Monocot
A flowering plant (angiosperm) that possesses one cotyledon during embryonic development.
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Ovary
In plants, the protective structure that holds the ovules and surrounds the angiosperm seed; after fertilization, develops into a fruit.
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Ovule
Structure that contains the female gametophyte and gametes; after fertilization, develops into a seed.
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Phloem
Vascular tissue composed of cells that are living at maturity; transports the products of photosynthesis throughout the plant body.
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Photosynthesis
The process by which plants and other autotrophic organisms convert light energy into organic materials.
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Pollen Grain
The male gametophyte of gymnosperms and angiosperms.
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Root
The part of a plant beneath the soil; responsible for collecting water and minerals from the soil, storing nutrients, and securing the plant to the ground.
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Root Hair
An outgrowth of a plant root that provides an increased surface area for the absorption of water and dissolved minerals from the soil.
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Runner
Slender horizontal stem that can give rise, via specialized nodes, to new plants.
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Shoot
The part of the plant above the soil, including all aerial structures such as stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits; gathers carbon dioxide and light energy for photosynthesis, provides surfaces for gas exchange, and contains the plant's reproductive organs.
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Sporophyte
A diploid plant or plant structure that produces haploid spores through meiosis.
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Stoma
A very small epidermal pore, surrounded by two guard cells, through which gases diffuse in and out of a leaf.
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Tracheophyte
A terrestrial plant with a vascular system.
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Tuber
Fleshy underground storage structure, composed of an enlarged portion of the stem, that has on its surface buds capable of producing new plants.
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Vascular System
Mechanism of internal water and nutrient transport, made up of the vascular tissues xylem and phloem, that is characteristic of tracheophytes.
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Vascular Tissue
A conductive component (either xylem or phloem) of the system that transports food and nutrients throughout the plant body.
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Vegetative Propagation
A form of asexual reproduction in which plants produce genetically identical offshoots (clones) of themselves, which then develop into independent plants.
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Xylem
Vascular tissue composed of cells that are dead at maturity; transports water and dissolved minerals upwards from the roots to the shoot.
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