AnnouncementsLab this week:Wear warm clothes for conifer walk

Jim Brown Seminar

Wed. 9th

UC Theatre

Coniferales (Conifers)

5 families worldwide, 3 in Montana

Cupressaceae - Cypress Family

Taxaceae - Yew Family

Pinaceae - Pine Family

Conifers - Pinaceae (Pine Family)

Pinus - Pine Larix - Larch or Tamarack Tsuga - Hemlock

Pseudotsuga - Douglas Fir Abies - Fir Picea - Spruce

Larix - Larch

P. monticola

Key features Deciduous needles in clusters Small cones w/ 3-parted bracts

P. albicaulis

L. lyalliiSubalpine Larch

L. occidentalisWestern Larch

Tsuga - Hemlock

P. albicaulis

T. heterophylla(coastal disjunct)

Pseudotsuga menziesii - Douglas-fir

P. monticola P. albicaulis

Abies - Fir

P. monticola P. albicaulis

Key features Blunt evergreen needles Barrel-shaped cones held upright Cone scales dehisce (fall off)

A. lasiocarpaSubalpine Fir

P. monticola P. albicaulis

A. grandisGrand Fir

Picea - Spruce

P. monticola P. albicaulis

Key features Sharp needles Papery cones hang down

twig w/ pegs

scaley bark

P. monticola P. albicaulis

P. engelmanniiEngelmann Spruce

P. glaucaWhite Spruce

Conifers - Pinaceae (Pine Family)

Pinus - Pine Larix - Larch or Tamarack Tsuga - Hemlock

Pseudotsuga - Douglas Fir Abies - Fir Picea - Spruce

Cupressaceae - Cypress Family

Key features Leaves usually scale-like (folded and flattened) Female cones small, either woody or “berry-like” Two genera in Montana

Thuja (large trees) Juniperus (small trees or shrubs)

Thuja plicata - Western Red Cedar

Coastal disjunct foundon moister westernslopes in Rockies

Female cones

Juniperus - Juniper

J. scopulorumRocky Mtn. Juniper

Dioecious shrubs/small trees Female cones berry-like

J. communisCommon Juniper

low shrub w/needles worldwide distribution

shrub/small tree scale leaves

Taxaceae - Yew Family

Key features

Dioecious shrubs/small trees Needles flattened; appear 2-ranked No cone - seed surrounded by a fleshy aril One genus/species in Montana (Taxus brevifolia)

Taxus brevifolia - Pacific Yew

Coastal disjunct onlyin moist areas here(canyons etc.)

Paperybark

Arils (only on females)

Conifer Questions????

Cupressaceae - Cypress Family

Taxaceae - Yew Family

Pinaceae - Pine Family

Moving on to angiosperms: the vast majority of plants

Conifers Gingkos CycadsEphedra

Seed plants

Angiosperms

600 species 257,000 species

~135 mya

Plant life historiesDifferent means to the same end:

survival & reproduction

Lifespan and timing of reproduction

Ideal plant strategy: 1) live forever2) make lots of seeds every year

Why not?

Lifespan and timing of reproduction

Ideal plant strategy: 1) live forever2) make lots of seeds every year

Why not?Limited resources (light, nutrients, water etc.)

tradeoff between survival/growth and reproduction (usually...)

Lifespan and timing of reproduction

Life history strategieshigh adult mortality --> reproduce now!

ex. weeds, vernal pool plants

high seedling mortality --> just survive!

ex. trees, grassland forbs

Lifespan and timing of reproduction: herbs(woody trees and shrubs are all perennial by definition)

Annual 1st year: flowers, dies

Biennial 1st year: makes rosette 2nd year: flowers, dies

Perennial Lives for multiple years May or may not flower in

any year

Mimulus douglasii Oenothera biennis Balsamorhiza and Lupinus

Lifespan and timing of reproduction

iteroparity - reproduce repeatedly

semelparity- reproduce once, then die

etc.

Lifespan and timing of reproduction

Agave (Century Plant)extreme semelparity

Plants are sessile and modular

vs.

Some consequences of being a plant• can make own food (photosynthesis)• can grow indefinitely & survive major damage

BUT,

can’t go look for a better place

local competition for resources

evolution of fungal/bacterial symbioses evolution of seed dispersal mechanisms

can’t go look for mates

evolution of pollination mechanisms

Competition for light affects plant growth form

over evolutionary time

over individual lifespans

terminal (apical) bud

axillary bud

node

internode

Angiosperm vegetative terminology

leaf!

stem

terminal (apical) bud

axillary bud

node

internode

Angiosperm vegetative terminology

leaf!

oppositeleaves alternate

stemor shoot

whorled

Angiosperm vegetative terminology

Basal leaves (at base of shoot)

Cauline leaves(on shoot)

petiole

Leaf parts

blade

stipule

midvein

margin

pinnate

palmate

dichotomous

parallel

Leaf venation

stoma w/guard cells(regulates gas exchange)

waxy cuticle(blocks water loss)

Leaves need to uptake gas (CO2) for photosynthesis, but also need to minimize loss of H2O through leaves

mesophyllw/chloroplasts

vein w/vascular tissue(water , sugar )

Plant water relations

Succulents(modified for water storage)

Artemisia tridentata (Asteraceae)

Sagebrush foliage - Adaptation to dry/high sun conditions

Leaf forms

simpleunlobed

simplelobed

simplelobed (palmate)

compound(palmate)

compound(pinnate)

compound(twice pinnate)

entire dentate

Leaf margins

How to figure out what is the leaf

axillary bud isalways at base of leaf(above the petiole)

Roots anchoring water and nutrient absorption water and carbohydrate storage

Taproot Fibrousroots

Adventitiousroots

Storage roots

?

Modified stemsrhizome = horizontal, rootlike stem

stem

roots

rhizome

shootbuds

tuber(extra-starchy rhizome)

Modified stemsstolon = an aboveground horizontal stem with long internodes

Saxifraga

Fragaria

plantlets

Saxifraga

Fragaria

Saxifraga

Fragaria

Asexual or clonal reproduction

Definition of “individual” depends on perspective

genetic individual --> “genet”

growth unit --> “ramet”

Modularity => a continuum between growth and reproduction

Saxifraga

Populus tremuloides (Aspen)