Flower Dissection!

Woohoo!

Today in class we did our first dissection ever! It wasn't as cool as dissecting an animal but at least it wasn't as messy either!

Labelling:

This particular flower had 6 Anthers. The anthers are the brown parts on top and they contain the pollen which means that they are the Male part of the flower. The stem which holds the anthers is called the Filament. Together this part of the plant is called the Stamen.

In this photo, the small dark sport on the left of the stem is called the Stigma and is the Female part of the stem. The stem which holds the Stigma is called the Style. And the thick part on the bottom is the ovary which contains the ovule/egg.  Together, this part of the plants is called the Pistil.

This flower had 6 colourful Petals which means it is a Monocot plant. (Monocot plants have petals in groups of 3).

Here is a close-up of the Pollen found on the Anther. Truthfully, I think that the pollen looks like a bunch of insect eggs which does not appeal to me. I don't like insects and I definitely don't like theri eggs.

Now here is a close-up of an Ovule/Egg! As you can see it is unfertilized but it is still an interesting thing to be seen.

Pollination:

Pollination is the transfer of pollen (from the anthers) to the stigma. From there, the pollen can reach the egg and that is when Fertilization occurs. Pollen is transfered from the anther to the stigma through wind or through pollinators such as birds, bees, or other insects. The stigma is quite sticky which make pollen easier to attract. Now that you know what Pollination is, there are two tuypes of pollinaton; Self-Pollination and Cross-Pollination. Self-Pollination is when the pollen from one plant pollinates the stigma from the same plant. Some benefits of Self-Pollination is that it allows the plant to keep the traits that are to theri advantage. On the other hand, Cross-Pollination is when the Pollen from one plant pollinates a stigma found on a different plant! This also gives plants a great advantage because it allows more diversity within the plants which allow them to develop new traits. And new traits might lead to a higher chance of survival.

Classification:

In Conclusion, I think the flower we dissected today would be a Monocot because it has all the traits of a monocot. For example its veins on the leaves are parallel to one another and the plant has 6 petals. And Monocot Plants always have petals in multiples of 3.

Monocot or Dicot?

Angiosperms:

Angiosperms are probably plants that people see on a daily-basis. For example, Angiosperms are plants that bear fruits, nuts, or berries. Out of all the Angiosperms in the world, they can be divided into 2 categories, Monocot or Dicot. There are many traits which allow us to determine whether a plant is a Monocot or Dicot. But in this post, you will see the Microscopic differences between Monocots and Dicots.

Roots:

As you can see, this is a picture of what a Cross-section of what a Monocot root and a Dicot root looks like close-up. It has many vascular Bundles arranged in a ring-like structure. Unlike the Moncot root, the dicot root has only 1 vascular bundle right in the middle shaped like an "x".

 

               Monocot                                   Dicot

Stems:

The pictures below close-ups of what a Cross-section of a Monocot and a Dicot stem. The differences between these stems are that in Monocot stems, the Vascular Bundles are arranged in a ring-like structure right beneath the epidermis and are relatively uniform size. On the other hand, the Vascular Bundles in a Dicot stem are scattered throughout the stem and are all different in size.

              Monocot                                   Dicot

Leaves: 

Below are pictures of cross-sections of a Monocot and a Dicot Leaf. In a monocot leaf, the Vascular Bundles are in line with each other. While in a Dicot leaf, the also parallel to one another but the difference is that in Dicot leaves, the vascular bundles are placed more farther apart.

           Monocot                                   Dicot

Acorns and Pine cones

Comparison Between Acorns and Pine Cones:

Have you ever wondered what the differences between an acorn and Pine Cone are? Well, wonder no further! I have important information about these two things that can change your life (hopefully).

Fun Fact: The whole reason plants are alive is to try to take over the world by producing seeds so that their offspring will hopefully conquer the planet! And if your thinking "What about them Seedless grapes". My answer to you is that they are Genetically modified to have no seeds which pretty much makes it useless in the plant world. All this trouble to make eating fruits more convenient. Is it worth it?

Acorns:

First of all, here are the basics. Acorns are found on Oak trees and are the actual seed themselves. Like many other trees, Oak trees produces nuts and in this case, it is acorns. Acorns are edible but contain Tannic acid which gives it a bitter taste and can be very dangerous for people if taken in high amounts. So just try to avoid eating them. On the other hand, an animal that can handle the Tannic acid would be the one and only Squirrel! And thanks to the squirrel, the seeds can be dispersed into many regions. And in some cases, the wind can help spread out the seeds to make more oak trees in the future.

Pine cones:

Unlike Acorns, Pine Cones are found on Cpniferous Trees and are just part of the tree's reproduction cycle. Because of this, they have to produce seeds themselves. This is made possible when the pollen from the male cone reaches the Ovules in the female cone and BAM! Seeds are being developed under the pine cone's scale. After a couple of weeks, the seeds fall out of the pine cone and are dispersed far distances thanks to their "Wings" which allows them to fly to other locations and hopefully produce a Pine Tree.

Plants with Powers!

Mimosa Pudica:

The Mimosa Pudica (a.k.a. the Sensitive Plant, the Shy plant, then Humble Plant, and many more other names) is a very fascinating plant because it is totally different from the rest of the plants. Native to Brazil, it is found in most tropical climates but can be grown worldwide under the right conditions! Even in an average household! This plant can actually appear as if it is dead just by the touch of the finger. Scientists think, that the Sensitive plant was developed in this way to drive off plant-eating animals because it is highly unlikely that animals would eat a plant that moves when touched. The ability that allows the plant to "droop" is in the cells found in the plant that can sense a change in pressure. For example, when the plant is touched, the plant feels a change in pressure resulting in the vacuoles in the leaf to lose water and appear frail. After a while, the plant will regain it's normal shape as long as the pressure is unchanged or in other words, the plant is left untouched.

Still don't believe me, check out this awesome video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLTcVNyOhUc


Fun Fact: If you want to buy these wonderful seeds, they can be purchased at this website! And this website offers classroom kits which are great for teachers! 

http://ticklemeplant.com/

The Private Life of Plants

The Fig Tree

Out of all the "Private Life of Plants" videos I chose the one about how the fig tree is able to strangle other trees in order for it to ensure survival. Although it may not be a cool time lapse video like the other videos, the information in this video is phenomenal! From watching the video, I learned that not only do Fig Trees produce delicious figs, but also learned that once Fig Trees have a steady source of nutrients, they increase in growth drastically and start to wrap a host tree with its Rootlets. The Rootlets then start to become thicker and soon cover the host tree from top to bottom. Because of the Murderous takeover from the Fig Tree, the host tree is now unable to access it's nutrients because the soil is now filled with Fig roots which take up most of the nutrients. The Host tree, now dies creating a hollow hole for the Fig Tree. Luckily the Fig is able to stand on it's own and move on with it's life.

Still don't believe me? Here is an awesome video that will teach you all about it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCUtpmwacoE&list=PLCC07E66503F99BB5&index=6

Pine Cone Project

Pine Cone Reindeer!

For my Pine Cone project, I gathered natural materials from the forest near our school such as pine, cones, acorns, leaves, and some red berries and was able to create this one of a kind reindeer!

                                Front

                                     Right

                                     Left

Fun Fact: He is currently living in front of the Christmas Tree. Can you spot him?

Gymnosperm Slides

A Closer look:

Today we were lucky enough to take a closer look at Gymnosperms! 

Here is what we saw;

Needle Cross-Section

Female Pollen Cone