Basic Botany for

Master Gardeners
 Vascular Plants
 Almost horticultural plants
 Contain tissues which transport water and dissolved
materials.
 Most produce seeds as a way to propagate or reproduce
themselves.
 The vascular plants that reproduce by seed can be
divided into two classes:
gymnosperms angiosperms
I. Gymnosperms
 do not have true flowers
 seeds are not enclosed in fruits
 most seeds are produced in cones
II. Angiosperms
 produce flowers
 develop fruits that contain seeds
A. Monocotyledons (Monocots)
 produce 1 seed leaf (cotyledon)
 flower parts generally in multiples of 3
 leaves long and narrow with parallel veins
 vascular system arranged in bundles (tulips, corn,
spider plant)
B. Dicotyledons (Dicots)
 produce 2 seed leaves
 flower parts generally in multiples of 4 or 5
 diversely shaped leaves with netted veins
 vascular system forms rings inside the stem
(rose, maples, cucumbers)
 Annuals

Pass through entire life cycle from

seed germination to seed production
in one growing season.
 Biennials

Start from seed to produce vegetative

structures and food storage organs the first
season. Winter’s cold temperatures stimulate
the production of flowers, fruit and seeds the
second season (to complete the life cycle).
 Perennials
Plants that live for 3 or more years. Once mature, they
generally produce flowers and seeds each year.

 Herbaceous: tops die back to the ground each

winter and new stems grow from the roots each
spring.
 Woody: Top growth persists from year to year and
develops woody tissue.
 Types of Weeds

GRASSY BROADLEAF

Annual Perennial Annual Biennial Perennial

crabgrass bermudagrass mustards white clover

Summer Winter
goosegrass dallisgrass yellow rocket dandelion
annual bluegrass (Postemergence) (Oct - Nov) wild garlic
(Preemergence) lespedeza common chickweed (varies)
spurge Carolina geranium
(April - May) henbit
(Oct - Nov)
 Plant Taxonomy

• Binomial nomenclature (genus, species).

• Developed by Carl von Linne in 1700’s.

• Classification based on the flowers and/or

reproductive parts of a plant.
 Binomial System of Nomenclature
Basis for defining species (a self-perpetuating
population that is isolated genetically)
Each species is given 2 names in botanical Latin--the
scientific name
Sugar Maple (family Aceraceae)

Acer saccharum Marsh.

Genus species authority

Botanic Variety
Exhibit differences which are inheritable occur
naturally
Acer saccharum var. conicum
Cultivar
Contractrion for “cultivated variety” (L.H.
Bailey)
Usually asexually propagated, but also lines
(from a selected seed source) and hybridization
Acer saccharum ‘Columnare’ or cv. Columnare
 Principal Plant Parts
1. Vegetative: Plant parts are NOT
involved in the production
of seed.
stems buds
leaves roots

2. Reproductive: Plant parts are involved

in the production of
seed.
flower buds fruits
flowers seeds
 Parts of a Stem

An enlarged region
of the stem where
leaves are attached
and buds arise The region
between 2 nodes
 Internode length can vary

•Decreasing fertility can decrease internode

length.
•Low light levels can cause plant to “stretch”
(etiolation).
•Internode length decreases as the growing
season draws to its end.
•Plants growing rapidly tend to have greater
internode lengths than less vigorous plants.
•Internode length varies with competition from
surrounding foliage or developing fruit.
 Growth Habit
Stems help us define/describe a plant’s
habit of growth.

Trees Shrubs
• perennial woody plant • perennial woody plant
• 1 main stem called a trunk • 1 or main stems
• usually over 12 feet tall • less than 12 feet
 Stems

• main axis giving plants their upright form

• support buds and leaves

• serve as conduits for carrying water, minerals

and sugars
 Stems As Conduits

The vascular system is composed of 2 types of tissue:

1. Xylem: Conducts water and minerals upward.

2. Phloem: Conducts synthates (starches, sugars)

manufactured in the plant to wherever they are
needed.

In older dicot stems (example: trees) the vascular

cambium is located between the xylem and pholem. It is
the site of cell division and active growth and is
responsible for the stem’s increase in girth.
 Monocots Dicots and Gymnosperms
Xylem and phloem are Xylem and phloem form rings
arranged in bundles that are inside the stems. The phloem
dispersed throughout the is nearest the bark; the xylem
stem forms the inner rings and
develops into wood in woody
plants.
Parts of a Woody Stem
Annual Rings = xylem rings

* Spring Xylem is wide & light brown (grows rapidly)

* Summer Xylem is thin & darker (grow slower)
* Each pair of light & dark rings = one year’s growth.
Tree Wounds
 Diversified Stem Development

All stems have one thing in common. They all

have nodes divided by internodes.

Above-ground: Crowns, Stolons, Spurs

Below-ground: Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes,

Tubers
Crowns: Compressed stem with short internodes.
Examples: Strawberries, Dandelions and African
Violets.

Runner (stolon)
forms new plants at
nodes
Stolons: Horizontal stem that lies along the top of the
ground. Examples: Strawberries and Spider Plants.

coral bells and ground

ivy also have stolon
Spurs: Short, stubby side stems that arise from the main
stem; common on apple, pear and cherry trees where they
bear fruit.

spur
Bulbs: Shortened, compressed, underground stems surrounded by
fleshy leaves that envelop a central bud located at the tip of the
stem.
Examples: Tulips, Lilies, Daffodils and Onions.

leaves

stem
Corm: A solid swollen stem whose scales have been reduced
to a dry, leaf-like covering.
Examples: Gladiolus and Crocus.

lateral bud

internode

node

old corm
Rhizomes: Stems which grow horizontally at or just below the soil
surface.
Examples: Iris and Quackgrass.
Tubers: An enlarged portion of an under-ground
stem.
Example: White Potatoes

Eyes are actually the

nodes on the stem; each
eye contains a cluster of
buds.
 Modified Roots

Tuberous Roots
Underground storage organs
without nodes and
internodes; they are true
roots.
Examples: Dahlia and Sweet
Potato

Sweet Potato - Tuberous Root

 Plant Propagation
Stem Cuttings: Dividing above-ground stems into
sections with nodes and internodes in order to produce
new plants with roots.
Below-Ground Stems: Tubers can be cut into pieces
containing “eyes” (buds).

Rhizomes, bulbs and corms all propagate themselves

vegetatively as well as by seed.
 Leaves
The primary functions of leaves is to
photosynthesize, or capture energy from the sun
and convert it to sugars for later use.

• Leaves are green because they contain

chlorophyll (the green pigment involved in
photosynthesis.

• Leaves are broad to intercept a maximum

amount of sunlight.
 Parts of a Leaf Broadleaf

Conifer
Leaf
 Types of Venation

• parallel-veined • net-veined

Parallel Pinnate Net-veined

 Leaves as a Means of Identifying Plants

• simple • compound

Simple Palmate Compound Pinnate Compound Double

Pinnate
Compound
 Shape of The Leaf Blade

Subulate Acicular Filliform Linear Oblong Elliptical Ovate

Obovate

Lancecolate Oblanceolate Spatulate Orbicular Rhomboidal Delloid Cordate

 Shape of The Blade Ends

Acute Acuminate Aristate Cuspitate Micronate Obtuse Retuse Emarginate

Cuneate Attenuate Obtuse Cordate Auriculate Sagittate Truncate

 Leaf Margins

Entire Sinuate Crenate Dentate Serrate Serrulate Double Serrate Incised Laccerate Pectinate Ciliate Lobed Cleft Parted
Types of Leaf Arrangement
The Structure of a Leaf
• Epidermis: Layer of protective cells on both the
top and bottom of a leaf.

• Cuticle: Layer covering the epidermis composed

of a waxy substance called cutin that protects
that leaf from dehydration.

• Guard Cells: Pairs of epidermal cells on the

underside of leaves that surround openings to
the interior of the leaf. Guard cells regulate the
interior of the leaf. Guard cells regulate the
passage of H20, 02 and C02 through the leaf.
• Stomates: An opening or pore in the epidermis of
leaves; opening and closing determined mostly by
weather.

• Mesophyll: Middle layer of the leaf located

between the upper and lower epidermis.
Photosynthesis occurs in the mesophyll. It is
divided into the palisade layer and the parenchyma
layer. The cells in these two layers contain
chloroplasts - the actual site of photosynthesis
 Plant Growth and Development

Three major plant functions essential for growth and

development.

• Photosynthesis
• respiration
• transpiration

1. Photosynthesis means to put together with light.

6 C02 +12 H20 in the presence of light and

chlorophyll C6H1206 + 602 + 6 H20
2. Respiration is the process by which sugars and
starches are oxidized to release energy.

C6H1206 + 602 + 6 H20  6 C02 +12 H20 + Energy

 Differences and Similarities

Photosynthesis Respiration
Building Process Breaking-down process
1. Produces food 1. Uses food for plant energy
2. Stores energy 2. Releases energy
3. Occurs in cells containing 3. Occurs in all cells
chloraplasts
4. Releases oxygens 4. Uses oxygen
5. Uses and produces water 5. Uses and produces water
6. Uses carbon dioxide 6. Produces carbon dioxide
7. Rate is dependent on light 7. Rate is independent of light
8. Rate is somewhat dependent 8. Rate is very dependent upon
on temperature temperature
3. Transpiration is the process by which a plant loses
water, primarily through leaf stomates.

• temperature
• humidity
• wind

Transpiration is a necessary process by which about 90%

of the water that enters plant roots is lost through the
stomates. Water is pulled up into plants providing for
mineral transport form the soil into the plant, for cooling
of plant parts through evaporation, for the translocating
of sugars and plant chemicals, and maintaining turgor
pressure.
 Buds

• terminal • lateral
(axillary)

• leaf bud • flower bud

• adventitious
 Roots
The below-ground portion of a plant
Principle Functions of Roots
 to absorb nutrients and water

 to anchor

 to furnish physical support for the stem

 to serve as food storage organs

 to propagate
 Types of Roots
Taproot Fibrous
Root
Structure
1. Root cap: Covers and protects the root tip or
meristem which manufactures new cells.

2. Meristem (root tip): Area of cell division and

growth.

3. Zone of Elongation: Cells increase in size through

food and water absorption; cells responsible for
pushing the root through the soil.

4. Maturation Zone: Where cells change into specific

tissues like epidermis and vascular tissue.

Root hairs perform much of the nutrient and water

uptake.
The Structure of a Flower

Receptacle
 Types of Flowers
Complete: Have a pistil, stamen, petals and sepals.

Incomplete: Flowers that lack one of these parts.

Perfect: Flowers with functional pistils and stamens.

Imperfect: Flowers lacking either pistils or stamens.

Pistillate (female): Have a functional pistil, but lack

stamens.

Staminate (male): Have functional stamens, but no pistil.

 One House or Two?

• Monoecious: Plants in which pistillate and staminate

flowers occurs on the same plant. (Corn, pecans;
cucumbers and squash – male flowers followed by
female flowers.)

• Dioecious: Pistillate and staminate flowers occurs on

separate plants. (Hollies)
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from
an anther to a stigma.

• bats • wind

• insects • rain

• birds
Life Cycle
Of an
Angiosperm
A fruit is the enlarged ovary
around the newly developed seeds.
Simple fruits develop from a single ovary

• drupes • capsule

• pomes • samara

• berries • nuts

• legumes
Apple Flower and Fruit
Aggregate fruits develop from a single flower
which has many ovaries
• strawberry • blackberry
• raspberry
 Multiple fruits develop from a tight
cluster of separate, independent
flowers borne on a single structure

• beet • pineapple • fig

Beet “Seeds"
Actually a cluster of seeds
in a dried fruit. Several
seedlings may grow from
each fruit.

Beet Seed Plant

The root is the size of a
football at harvest, has an
extremely woody consistency,
and is completely unsuitable
for consumption.
Figs

The fig's edible structure is actually

stem tissue. The fig fruit is an
inverted flower with both the male
and female flower parts enclosed in
stem tissue (syconium). At maturity
the interior of the fig contains only
the remains of these flower parts,
including small gritty structures
commonly called “seeds”, which are
really unfertilized ovaries that failed
to develop.
 Seed

• Embryo: A miniature plant in an arrested state of

development.

• Endosperm: Built-In food supply made up of proteins,

carbohydrates and/or fats.

• Seed Coat: Hard outer covering which protects the

seed from diseases and insects, and prevents water
from entering the seed.
The Structure of Seeds
 Peanut Plant
• An annual plant native to
South America
• Grows to about 2 ft tall.
• Small yellow flowers
that bloom for about 12
hours; self-pollinating.
• 4 days later, a stem (also
called a peg) will grow
from the flower and
head into the soil.
• At the end of each stem,
the seed pods (peanuts
in the shell) will develop.
Peanut Seed