Related Words

Angiosperm: Means 'enclosed seeds' and identifies trees usually known as hardwoods.

Angiosperms: Flowering plants. First appearing at least 110 million years ago from an unknown gymnosperm ancestor, flowering planbts have risen to dominance in most of the worlds floras. The male gametop . . . View Full Definition

Synergid: Cells in the embryo sac of angiosperms that flank the egg cell. The pollen tube grows through one (usually the smaller) of the synergids.

Pollen Tube: Structure produced by the tube nucleus in the pollen grain through which the sperm nucleus (or nuclei in angiosperms) proceed to travel through to reach the egg.

Vessel Elements: Short, wide cells arranged end to end, forming a system of tubes in the xylem that moves water and solutes from the roots to the rest of the plant. Large diameter cells of the xylem that are . . . View Full Definition

Monocots: One of the two major types of fiowering plants; characterized by having a single cotyledon, fioral organs arranged in threesd or multiples of three, and parallel-veined leaves; include grass . . . View Full Definition

Embryo Sac: Alternate term applied to the angiosperm female gametophyte contained within a megaspore.

Endosperm: A food storage tissue that provides nutrients to the developing embryo in angiosperms; formed from the triploid cell produced when a sperm cell fertilizes the central cell. Some endosperm is . . . View Full Definition

Flowers: The reproductive structures in angiosperm sporophytes where gametophytes are generated.

Jurassic Period: Middle period of the Mesozoic Era, between 185-135 million years ago. Characterized by the (possible) origin of angiosperms and the continued split of the worldwide supercontinent of Pangaea.