28.1: Introduction
Over the course of each different plant’s evolutionary history, environmental pressures can lead to modifications of plant tissues and organs in predictable ways that we can then classify. For example, plants that frequently encounter drought will experience selection for the ability to access water when there is no water in the environment. The plants that evolve water-storage will have better survival in this environment and are more likely to successfully reproduce. However, animals in this dry environment might then seek out their water-filled tissues. Plants that either hide or protect these water reserves are more likely to survive and experience less herbivory. Over time, as the environment continues to select for these defenses, they improve. And thus, over long periods of evolutionary time, one lineage of plants evolves into cacti, while another related lineage evolves in a different environment to be carnations.
There are many selective pressures on plants. limate has a strong selective effect on the anatomy and morphology of plants, particularly water availability and access to sunlight. Herbivory is another strong selective pressure, as plants cannot run away from their predators. Instead, they must evolve other deterrents while balancing the energy costs required for these adaptations with energy devoted to reproduction. A third strong selective pressure is nutrient availability, which is often determined by the soil environment. For example, serpentine soils have low levels of nitrogen and calcium. Plants in serpentine habitats often evolve the ability to trap and digest insects to absorb the missing nutrients. These “carnivorous” plants are not heterotrophic, because they do not use the trapped insects as an energy source.
Plant growth regulators (phytohormones) are small organic molecules that occur naturally in plants. Phytohormones can regulate plant physiological growth processes such as flowering, germination, stem elongation, seed dormancy, fruit ripening, and gene expression.
There are several phytohormones such as gibberellic acid that can increase stem growth parameters. Ethylene can influence fruit ripening.
The two questions you answered above are essential to understanding the evolution of secondary growth . In secondary growth, primary tissues and residual meristematic tissues produce secondary meristems, which then produce secondary tissues. Whereas primary tissues allow for vertical growth, secondary tissues allow for lateral growth: they allow stems and roots to become wider. How might this impact the ability of a plant to grow taller?
In addition to growing wider, secondary growth exchanges the living epidermis for a thick layer of dead, waterproofed cells called cork. The cork and a few other layers of tissue comprise something called the periderm, or perhaps more familiarly called bark . Consider the tradeoffs between having a living exterior with guard cells vs. a thick layer of waterproofed dead cells. How might this impact the ability of the plant to interact with the outer environment? How might this impact the ability of the outer environment to interact with the interior of the plant?
Variations on this type of growth appear in a few places, but the evolution of gymnosperms (conifers and their relatives) is when the more typical secondary growth appears in evolutionary history. As you will see in later labs, the gymnosperms evolved during a period in Earth’s history when inland seas were drying out and plants were migrating further from the water. This group of plants is specialized for growing tall (think Coast redwoods) or living in harsh, low-water environments. As a general rule, monocots do not undergo secondary growth, so this lab will only address eudicots.