plant diversity

Paper details:
Introduction
Fruits and seeds:

1. Write a brief (at least 250 words) description of, and give examples of, the various seed dispersal mechanisms that have evolved in flowering plants.

2. Provide the scientific names of the cucumber, tomato, orange, apple, banana and name the country or region of origin of each of them (hint: Be careful here; apples did not originate in Washington, nor did oranges originate in Florida).

Materials and Methods

A note about your dissections and photographs: Display the dissections on white paper, label them fully, clearly and darkly (so the labels will show up), then photograph your labeled dissection. Do not add labels to your photograph in Photoshop or a similar program. I want to see your original work (photographed for convenience of sending it to me), laid out and labeled in your handwriting on white paper, just as I would see it in your lab notebook in a face to face lab course. Don’t forget to include Lab 12, date, your name, and your plant code name, in your original handwriting directly on the paper.

1. Carefully make thin cross sections (cross-wise, not long-wise, so that number of carpels can be counted) of the cucumber, tomato, orange, apple and banana. Lay the sections out on sheets of white paper so that important structures are clearly visible, can be labeled, and can be photographed. The photographs should be close up enough to show the number of carpels and the placentae, where the seeds are attached. Note that the banana is seedless, a condition known as parthenocarpy. It lacks viable seeds (you may be able to find tiny abortive ovules that will never develop).

2. Carefully arrange on a sheet of white paper, fully label, and photograph the Include close up photographs of the bean sprout and the alfalfa sprout to show clearly the cotyledons, foliage leaves (present only on the bean sprout), and the hypocotyls.

3. Carefully arrange on a sheet of white paper, label as fully as possible, and photograph the wind dispersed fruit(s)and/or seed(s) that you collected.

4. Download from the internet photographs of examples of the following (no information cards required in these photos of course):

a. World’s largest fruit

b. World’s largest seed

c. A fruit or seed that has evolved to be dispersed by an animal in a passive way, i.e., the animal does not actively seek out the fruit or seed to eat it. Hint, such fruits or seeds are often spiny and stick to fur.

Important note about your photos: Put a card in each photo with your name, plant codename (password), and Lab 12 written on it, in English. No card in the photo, no points. Adding your name, etc. to your photos in Photoshop is not acceptable, they have to be hand-written cards, actually in the photographs.