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What is a Plant?
Hmmm…now there’s an interesting question.
Most schools used to lump the study of fungi (a science now
called mycology) in with their botany departments, and some schools still do this.
Are fungi plants?
What is a Plant? Surely, then we can say that anything that does photosynthesis is a plant, right?
All of these, plus the
euglenoids and golden algae, fall short of these criteria; though good Nope. But I’m being pickier than arguments could be made many people when I say that. for the inclusion of some If you want to know much more of them (especially red about it, take systematic botany; algae.) but for now, to be a plant you have to have chlorophylls a and b, store sugar as starch, and have an ancestor that had two anterior whiplash flagellae with star-shaped bases. What is a Plant? So what is a plant? My definition includes everything from “green algae” to flowering plants, which are considered the most advanced plants. Our focus will be on the land plants, like ferns, coniferous and deciduous trees, grasses, and wildflowers, to name a few. Why Study Plants? I. Atmospheric gas regulation A. Production of oxygen gas as a by-product of photosynthesis. The first oxygen producers were thought to be bacteria (like today’s cyanobacteria), which were eventually incorporated as endosymbionts into plant ancestors. You can’t have eukaryotes without oxygen (so aren’t we all glad it’s there!)
Maybe we’ll take a field trip Why Study Plants ? I. Atmospheric gas regulation B. Oxygen gas (O2) in the atmosphere is converted to ozone (O3)in the stratosphere, as it absorbs UV light. Ozone then absorbs more UV light and is eventually converted back into oxygen gas. This process blocks up to 99% of all the harmful UVB rays that would otherwise sterilize the surface of the earth impossible, by causing so many mutation in anything that ventured out of the shade. Why Study Plants? C. Utilization of CO2. Plants use carbon dioxide to build sugar via the Calvin cycle (a.k.a. “dark reactions”) of photosynthesis. Besides being toxic to humans at elevated levels (as the crew of Apollo 13 nearly experienced), CO2 is a “greenhouse gas,” meaning that it absorbs infrared radiation from earth, keeping that energy in the atmosphere longer and contributing to global Why Study Plants? II. Sugars and their polymers A. “Carb’s are the enemy,” according to Dr. Atkins, right? I don’t buy it, but then again I’m not losing weight, either. Plants give us simple sugars as well as starches. Even if your on a low-carb diet, you can still thank plants for all the leafy greens you’re (hopefully) eating. And then there’s the fact that all the meat you eat was part of an animal that probably ate plants to live. So almost all our food comes from plants. Why Study Plants? B. Fibers-- 1. Cotton: As George Costanza showed the Yankees on Seinfeld, cotton is king.
2. Paper: Average paper
use per person in North America is 2 kg/day.
3. Fibers such as nylon and
rayon are processed from wood fibers. Why Study Plants? III. Other molecules A. Medicines Foxglove produces digitalis, which treats heart disease.
Taxol from the
bark of the Rosy periwinkle pacific yew tree from Madagascar is one of the treats two cancers: most promising juvenile leukemia anti-cancer and Hodgkin’s drugs. disease. Threatened Also noteworthy are aspirin, ephedra (banned), by increasing population. quinine, ginkgolides, and others. Why Study Plants? B. Spices C. Oils D. Essential amino acids--There are 8 amino acids that we need in our cells, but we don’t have the ability to produce them ourselves. We can most easily get them from plants. To get the complete set of essential amino acids, a combination of legumes and cereals is best. What does that mean?
E. Fossil fuels like coal, crude oil, and natural gas are the products of plants that died a long time ago. Why Study Plants? F. I would be remiss not to mention one of the most economically and culturally important “other molecules” that is made from plants… alcohol. This powerpoint was kindly donated to www.worldofteaching.com
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