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Plant Taxonomy
Plantae
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Explore the diversity of with One Species at a Time, EOL's podcast series.
Each short audio story focuses on species and the scientists who study them, include multimedia extras and relevant educational resources.
Our podcasts are hosted by Ari Daniel Shaprio and produced by Atlantic Public Media
One Species at a Time Podcast Series
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Rights holder/Author | Tracy Barbaro, Tracy Barbaro |
Source | podcast.eol.org |
Flickr: What plant is that? - worldwide ( I )
Flickr: Plant Family Recognition - worldwide ( I )
Missouri Botanical Garden: Tropicos - worldwide with focus on tropics
GardenWeb Galleries - worldwide
GardenWeb "Name That Plant" Forum - worldwide ( I )
USDA Plants - North America
USDA NRCS PLANTS Identification Keys - North America
E-Flora - British Columbia, Canada
University of British Columbia Garden Forums - North America ( I )
US National Arboretum - North America
Flickr: Califlora - California, USA ( I )
www.missouriplants.com/ - Missouri, USA
Field Museum Tropical Plant Guides - Central America & South America
Flora Iberica - Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands
BBC Plant Finder - UK?
Flickr: Flora of the British Isles: A Photographic Guide - UK ( I )
Flickr: the De Flora van Nederland (Flora of the Netherlands) - Netherlands
Flora von Österreich (Flora of Austria) Wiki - Austria
Botanik im Bild - Austria
Flora of Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe
Flora of Mozambique - Mozambique
Identifying Australian Rainforest Plants,Trees and Fungi - Australia
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Tracy Barbaro, Tracy Barbaro |
Source | http://eol.org/collections/108 |
Xylem conduits transport water: plants
Xylem conduits in plants transport water from soil to leaves through a pulling force generated when water evaporates at the surface of leaves creating a negative pressure gradient.
"The transport system that drives sap ascent from soil to leaves is extraordinary and controversial. More than a century ago, H. H. Dixon (1896) proposed that a pulling force was generated at the evaporative surface of leaves and that this force was transmitted downward through water columns under tension to lift water much like a rope under tension can lift a weight. The cohesion–tension theory (C–T theory), as it is known, supposes both adhesion of water to conduit walls and cohesion of water molecules to each other." (Tyree 2003: 923)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Tyree, Melvin T. 2003. Plant hydraulics: The ascent of water. Nature. 423(6943): 923-923.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/d7662735f5e44d5c879876f05652d091 |
Rod-like reinforcements provide strength: plants
Vascular bundles in plants provide mechanical strength, serving as rod-like reinforcements.
"Figure 5: Part of a stem of a robust grass, in cross section. Here mechanical strength of the stem is provided by the vascular bundles set in a matrix of thinner-walled cells, rather like rod reinforcements. Each vascular bundle has an outer sheath of fibres, forming a strong tube in which the two wide vessels can conduct water, and the strand of thin-walled, narrow cells (phloem) can transport sugar solutions with little risk of damage. Just to the inner side of the outer ring of smaller vessels the several layers of narrow cells eventually become thick-walled and provide additional strength in the form of a cylinder to the whole stem." (Cutler 2005:101)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Cutler, DF. 2005. Design in plants. In: Collins, MW; Atherton, MA; Bryant, JA, editors. Nature and Design. Southampton, Boston: WIT Press. p 95-124
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/5e1215b66ff0cb0af326cfb5e4b72e56 |
Plantae (Plant (macrophyte) cells) is prey of:
Rhabdosargus
Nassariidae
Culicidae
Gryllidae
Anguilliformes
Platyhelminthes
Tetraodontidae
Cyprinidae
invertebrates
Anas
Rallus
Passeriformes
Microtus
Reithrodontomys
Mus
Rattus
Barbus paludinosus
Haplochromis similis
Clarias gariepinus
herbivorous vertebrate harvesters
Testudines
Arthropoda
Aves
Mammalia
Herpestes auropunctatus
Anolis evermanni
Anolis stratulus
Epilobocera situatifrons
Opiliones
Orthoptera
Diplopoda
Secernentia nematodes
Collembola
Machilidae
Blattellidae
Phasmatidae
Teratembiidae
Lepidoptera
Aoteapsyche
Aphrophila noevaezelandiae
Deleatidium
Oligochaeta II
Olinga feredayi
Oniscigaster
Pycnocentrodes
Zephlebia spectabilis
Paranephrops zealandicus
Nesameletus ornatus
Atalophlebioides cromwelli
Austrosimulium australense
Baraeoptera roria
Pirara
Coloburiscus humeralis
Eriopterini
Helicopsyche albescens
Hudsonema amabilis
Hydora nitida
Orychmontia
Podaena
Pycnocentria
Scirtidae
Tanyderidae
Zelandoperla
Acroperla trivacuata
Austroclima jollyae
Tanytarsini II
Oligochaeta I
Oxyethira albiceps
Potamopyrgus antipodarum
Orthoclad Blue Black
Podonomidae
Pycnocentrella eruensis
Zelandotipula
Based on studies in:
South Africa (Estuarine)
USA: New York, Long Island (Marine)
USA: Texas (Lake or pond)
USA: California (Marine)
Malawi (River)
Africa, Crocodile Creek, Lake Nyasa (Lake or pond)
USA: California, Coachella Valley (Desert or dune)
Puerto Rico, El Verde (Rainforest)
New Zealand: Otago, Dempster's Stream, Taieri River, 3 O'Clock catchment (River)
New Zealand: Otago, Healy Stream, Taieri River, Kye Burn catchment (River)
New Zealand: Otago, Sutton Stream, Taieri River, Sutton catchment (River)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- J. H. Day, The biology of Knysna estuary, South Africa. In: Estuaries, G. H. Lauff, Ed. (American Association for the Advancement of Science Publication 83, Washington, DC, 1967), pp. 397-407, from p. 406.
- G. M. Woodwell, Toxic substances and ecological cycles, Sci. Am. 216(3):24-31, from pp. 26-27 (March 1967).
- G. Fryer, The trophic interrelationships and ecology of some littoral communities of Lake Nyasa, Proc. London Zool. Soc. 132:153-229, from p. 219 (1959).
- G. Fryer, 1957. The trophic interrelationships and ecology of some littoral communities of Lake Nyasa with special reference to the fishes, and a discussion of the evolution of a group of rock-frequenting Cichlidae. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 132:153-281, f
- Townsend, CR, Thompson, RM, McIntosh, AR, Kilroy, C, Edwards, ED, Scarsbrook, MR. 1998. Disturbance, resource supply and food-web architecture in streams. Ecology Letters 1:200-209.
- Thompson, RM and Townsend, CR. 1999. The effect of seasonal variation on the community structure and food-web attributes of two streams: implications for food-web science. Oikos 87: 75-88.
- B. C. Patten and 40 co-authors, Total ecosystem model for a cove in Lake Texoma. In: Systems Analysis and Simulation in Ecology, B. C. Patten, Ed. (Academic Press, New York, 1975), 3:205-421, from pp. 236, 258, 268.
- R. F. Johnston, Predation by short-eared owls on a Salicornia salt marsh, Wilson Bull. 68(2):91-102, from p. 99 (1956).
- Polis GA (1991) Complex desert food webs: an empirical critique of food web theory. Am Nat 138:123155
- Waide RB, Reagan WB (eds) (1996) The food web of a tropical rainforest. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Surviving low nutrient, low light conditions: peatland plants
Plants in peatlands survive low nutrients and low light thanks to their perennial life cycle, which ensures a large biomass above and below ground.
"Virtually all true mire vascular plants are perennial. This is a most effective way to ensure a large biomass, both below and above ground. In a nutrient-poor environment, a relatively large root biomass is required to obtain enough resources, and this cannot easily be built up within one season. Also, the large above-ground biomass which may be necessary for light capture in wooded mires can be built only by perennials." (Rydin and Jeglum 2006:50)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Rydin, H.; Jeglum, J. K. 2006. The Biology of Peatlands. Oxford University Press. 343 p.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/c850de2f2bdd281abf5d1ecdf1ddcc2c |
Continuous fibers prevent structural weakness: trees
Knotholes in wood do not crack because the fibers around them are continuous.
"There has been relatively little attempt to produce an artificial analogue to wood because wood is cheap, lightweight, tough, moldable, and easily shaped. However, when a hole is drilled in timber, it weakens the structure. The tree, however, drills no holes, even though it must disrupt the trunk's wood where a new branch pushes through. The fibers deform around a knothole, remaining continuous. George Jeronimidis of the Univ. of Reading Center for Biometrics is proposing to study how this can be used in fibrous composite materials." (Courtesy of the Biomimicry Guild)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/538c08ab1f48d785f6d251c55ed5aa57 |
Antenna structure efficiently gathers light: vascular plants
Light harvesting antenna of plants allow for very quantum efficient capture by high pigment density and long excited-state lifetime design.
"Light harvesting in photosynthetic organisms is largely an efficient process. The first steps of the light phase of photosynthesis, capture of light quanta and primary charge separation processes are particularly well-tuned. In plants, these primary events that take place within the photosystems possess remarkable quantum efficiency, reaching 80% and 100% in photosystems II and I respectively. This paper presents a view on the organisation of a natural light harvesting machine—the antenna of the photosystem II of higher plants. It explains the key principles of biological antenna design and the strategies of adaptation to light environment which have evolved over millions of years. This article argues that the high efficiency of the light harvesting antenna and its control are intimately interconnected owing to the molecular design of the pigment–proteins it is built of, enabling high pigment density combined with the long excited-state lifetime. The protein plays the role of a programmed solvent, accommodating high quantities of pigments, while ensuring their orientations and interaction yields are optimised to efficiently transfer energy to the reaction centres, simultaneously avoiding energy losses due to concentration quenching. The minor group of pigments, the xanthophylls, play a central role in the regulation of light harvesting, defining the antenna efficiency and thus its abilities to simultaneously provide energy to photosystem II and protect itself from excess light damage. Xanthophyll hydrophobicity was found to be a key factor controlling chlorophyll efficiency by modulating pigment–pigment and pigment–protein interactions. Xanthophylls also endow the light harvesting antenna with the remarkable ability to memorise photosystem II light exposure—a light counter principle. Indeed, this type of light harvesting regulation displays hysteretic behaviour, typically observed during electromagnetic induction of ferromagnetic materials, the polarization of ferroelectric materials and the deformation of semi-elastic materials. The photosynthetic antenna is thus a magnificent example of how nature utilises the principles of physics to achieve its goal—extremely efficient, robust, autonomic and yet flexible light harvesting." (Ruban et al. 2011:1643)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Ruban V; Johnson MP; Duffy CDP. 2011. Natural light harvesting: principles and environmental trends. Energy and Environmental Science. 4(5): 1643-1650.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/a0bd372858b398992ce8c8b40688278b |
Rind resists rotting: flowering plants
Pollen grains of flowering plants are protected because of a stable, rot-resistant outer rind.
"The outer rind that carries [pollen grains] is composed of a substance so stable and so resistant to rotting that it may survive for tens of thousands of years and still be recognisable." (Attenborough 1995:95)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Attenborough, D. 1995. The Private Life of Plants: A Natural History of Plant Behavior. London: BBC Books. 320 p.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/be13247e9b251ae7f34275be393f543e |
CO2 breakdown used in organic compound manufacturing: plants
The metabolism of photosynthesizing organisms manufactures organic compounds via carbon dioxide breakdown.
"The chemical activation of CO2, that is, the splitting of its structure in a chemical reaction, is a major challenge in synthetic chemistry because of the very high thermodynamic stability of CO2, which requires an efficient energy source for its activation. However, the fact that biogenic carbon (i.e., biomass) originates from the fixation of CO2 implies that CO2 activation must be one of the oldest reactions in biological systems and have already occurred in prebiotic times.[1], [2] Interestingly, in current photosynthetic systems, this process relies on the formation of a carbamate as the first step of the cycle,[3] which may also have been the case in prebiotic systems, as a number of cyanide-based, nitrogen-rich, conjugated organic molecules, such as nucleic acids, porphyrins, and phthalocyanines, existed before life began." (Goettmann et al. 2007:2717)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Goettmann, Frédéric; Thomas, Arne; Antonietti, Markus. 2007. Metal-Free Activation of CO2 by Mesoporous Graphitic Carbon Nitride. Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 46(15): 2717-2720.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | (c) 2008-2009 The Biomimicry Institute |
Source | http://www.asknature.org/strategy/503a9e56f1c95569fe4db89052c712b1 |