A Closer Look at Plant Reproduction, Growth, and Ecology
A CLOSER LOOK AT PLANT REPRODUCTION GROWTH AND EcoLOGY
INTRODUCTION is known as a food chain Also as the result of photosynthesis plants release oxygen into the atmosphere Humans and many other live ing organisms need oxygen to live Plants also play an important part in devel oping ecosystems or natural environments Dead leaves stems and roots of plants leave their nutrients in soil which makes it richer The richer the soil the more plants that are capable of growing there and the more robust the ecosystem can become Animals typically don't care much about vegetation except as a food source Likewise people might overlook a blooming flower or a young tree as they go about their day But the truth is that the life of a plant is valuable and wondrous worthy of careful consideration Lavender blooms at the foot of a tree in Provence France Shutterstock com
CHAPTER 1 METHODS OF PLANT REPRODUCTION lants continue to live on Earth by producing new plants This process called reproduction may be sexual or asexual Sexual reproduction involves the union of two different sex cells while asex ual reproduction occurs without a union of sex cells ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION There are various types of asexual reproduc tion Mosses and liverworts for example often contain plant fragments called gemmae in cuplike structures on their leaves or stems Gemmae break loose and can germinate or sprout to establish a new plant which is genetically identical to its parent Most vascular plants that is plants with specialized tissues for carrying water and food can reDroduce by a form of asexual reproduction known as vegetative repro duction For example under the proper conditions pieces of leaf or stem broken from a plant may produce roots and estab lish a new individual Plants that produce
METHODS OF PLANT REPRODUCTION Some plants such as strawberries reproduce by growing offshoot plant stems called runners Shutterstock com runners and stolons often reproduce vegeta tively Runners are stems that run along the ground and stolons are stems that grow erect and then curve over touching the ground at the tip The strawberry produces runners that may establish a new plant The runners can then be broken without disturbing the parent or the new plant II
