Kingdoms

1. Kingdoms Plants and Fungi

2. Diversity of Fungi • Examples: moulds, mildew, yeast, truffles, and crop rusts • General Characteristics: • Eukaryotic • Usually multicellular • Cell walls made of chitin • Heterotrophic: Many look like plants but can’t make their own food

3. Use of Fungi • Important decomposers that help to cycle carbon and nitrogen • Return nutrients to soil for use by plants • Obtain nutrients by feeding on dead organisms • Other fungi are parasites and obtain nutrients from living organisms causing damage to the host

4. Structure and Reproduction of Fungi • Fungus are made of long threads called hyphae • Two main parts of fungus: • Fruiting body (above ground) – reproductive structure • Mycelium (below ground) – interwoven mat of hyphae

5. Plants • General characteristics: • Eukaryotic • Single and multi-celled • Cell walls made of cellulose • Use chlorophyll to carry out photosynthesis

6. Evolution of Plants • Mosses “bryophytes” • grow close to the ground in damp environments; non-vascular, do not use seeds for reproduction • Ferns • vascular tissue but do not use seeds to reproduce • Contain lignin that helps plant stand upright • Mosses and ferns both require water for fertilization; sperm cells must swim to reach egg

7. Evolution of Plants • Seed Plants • Gymnosperms or “evergreens” make naked seeds or cones • Flowering Plants • Angiosperms are flowering plants, seeds are protected and grow within the ovary of the plant

8. Evolution of Plants • Evolution of angiosperms and gymnosperms was dependent on adaptations to prevent loss of water and reproduce on land • Both have waxy coating on leaves to prevent evaporation • Both produce pollen that can travel through the air

9. Angiosperm Adaptations for Seed Dispersal • Flowers ensure successful fertilization and protect seeds