The fluctuation between the diploid (sporophyte) and haploid (gametophyte) life stages that occurs in plants.
A vascular flowering plant in which seeds are enclosed inside of protective ovaries.
An organism that synthesizes its own organic nutrients and does not rely on other organisms for food.
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.
Roughly spherical underground bud containing additional buds that can develop asexually into new plants.
A green pigment, necessary for photosynthesis, that is found in the chloroplasts of plants.
An flowering plant (angiosperm) that possesses two cotyledons during embryonic development.
Having two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent.
A haploid sex cell (either an egg or sperm cell); male and female gametes join during fertilization to create a diploid zygote.
A haploid plant or plant structure that produces haploid gametes through mitosis.
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.
A vascular non-flowering plant (commonly known as a conifer) in which seeds are not protected by an ovary.
Having only one set of chromosomes.
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.
A component of the cell layer that covers the reproductive organs of plants and prevents them from drying out.
A flowering plant (angiosperm) that possesses one cotyledon during embryonic development.
In plants, the protective structure that holds the ovules and surrounds the angiosperm seed; after fertilization, develops into a fruit.
Structure that contains the female gametophyte and gametes; after fertilization, develops into a seed.
Vascular tissue composed of cells that are living at maturity; transports the products of photosynthesis throughout the plant body.
The process by which plants and other autotrophic organisms convert light energy into organic materials.
The male gametophyte of gymnosperms and angiosperms.
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.
An outgrowth of a plant root that provides an increased surface area for the absorption of water and dissolved minerals from the soil.
Slender horizontal stem that can give rise, via specialized nodes, to new plants.
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.
A diploid plant or plant structure that produces haploid spores through meiosis.
A very small epidermal pore, surrounded by two guard cells, through which gases diffuse in and out of a leaf.
A terrestrial plant with a vascular system.
Fleshy underground storage structure, composed of an enlarged portion of the stem, that has on its surface buds capable of producing new plants.
Mechanism of internal water and nutrient transport, made up of the vascular tissues xylem and phloem, that is characteristic of tracheophytes.
A conductive component (either xylem or phloem) of the system that transports food and nutrients throughout the plant body.
A form of asexual reproduction in which plants produce genetically identical offshoots (clones) of themselves, which then develop into independent plants.
Vascular tissue composed of cells that are dead at maturity; transports water and dissolved minerals upwards from the roots to the shoot.