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STUDENT OBJECTIVE

The anatomy and life cycles of liverworts, mosses, ferns, conifers, and flowering plants are studied to determine how they are adapted to a terrestrial environment. Life-cycle stages in alternation of generations are discussed.

EQUIPMENT	AMOUNT
	(Class of 24 with 8 groups)
Compound microscope Dissecting microscope	1/student 1/student
MATERIALS
Slides Coverslips, medium square Dropper bottles with water Pipettes, Pasteur Styrofoam or cork Razor blades Living cultures Marchantia (thallose liverwort) gametophyte with gemmae (CBS#15-6540)* Marchantia with antheridia and archegonia (CBS#15-6544 and 15-6546)* Moss spore germination kit (CBS#15-6660)* or plates of moss protonema (CBS#15-6680)* Mature mosses (CBS#15-6695)* Moss capsules (CBS#15-6665)* Fern spores (CBS#15-6860)* Fern prothalli cultures (CBS#15-6872, 15-6876, 15-6878)* Mature fern plants with sori (CBS#15-6902)* Conifer needles, examples (gather locally) Monocots, several examples (gather locally) Dicots, several examples (gather locally) Small vascular plants Preserved specimens Pine life cycle set (cones) (CBS#PB568)* Pine cones with seeds (gather locally, dry in oven) Prepared slides (share to reduce costs) Marchantia thallus, cross section (CBS#29-8698)* Marchantia antheridia, longitudinal section (CBS#29-8722)* Marchantia archegonium, longitudinal section (CBS#29-8752)* Marchantia mature sporophyte, longitudinal section (CBS#29-8776)* Moss capsule, longitudinal section (CBS#29-9086)* Moss gametophyte stem, longitudinal and cross section (CBS#29-8918)* Moss gametophyte from protonema (CBS#29-8900)* Moss sperm, whole mount (CBS#29-9022)* Young fern sporophyte (CBS#29-9356)* Fern rhizome, cross section (CBS#29-9368)* Fern prothallus, whole mount (CBS#15-6879)* Pine needle, cross section (CBS#30-1376)* Pine pollen cone, longitudinal section (CBS#30-1436)* Pine ovulate cone, longitudinal section (CBS30-1478)* Pine stem, cross section (CBS#30-1298)*	4/student box/lab 12/lab 12/lab 4/lab 6-8/lab 1 kit/lab 1 kit/lab 1 kit/lab 1 kit/lab 1 kit/lab 1 kit/lab 1 kit/lab 1/lab several/lab several/lab several/lab several/lab   several/lab several/lab   At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab At least 8 slides/lab

*Please refer to the Appendix for name and address of supplier.

SOLUTIONS

Bold’s mineral medium in 0.7% agar for ferns and mosses (CBS#15-6788)*
Phloroglucinol stain (CBS#88-1321)*

PREPARATION

Eight Weeks before Lab

An order should be placed for the phloroglucinol staining solution, fern/moss agar, and any moss or fern that will not be available locally the day of the lab.

Six Weeks before Lab

Starting six weeks before lab and every week thereafter, dust a few fern spores on the surface of Bold’s medium in 0.7% agar. Follow directions supplied by CBS with spores. Alternatively, young and developed prothalli can be ordered to arrive in time for the lab.

Week before Lab

Previously ordered material should arrive at this time. Living material can be collected when in season. Mosses can be found in shady damp areas or on protected river banks. Material can be kept in a small culture bowl covered with plastic wrap. Make certain some of the soil is transferred with the specimen.

NOTES

1. To assist the student in organizing the materials presented in the lab class, prepare a station for each plant group. After thorough study, student groups can rotate to the next station.
2. Students may want to collect pine pollen in the spring of the year.
3. A slide show on diversity can be run continuously during the day in a hallway showcase using a rear projection, automatic projector (Caramate). Or, if the library has a media center, a tape-slide show can be on reserve for out-of-class viewing.
4. WCB/McGraw-Hill Publishers offer several plant (and animal) keys in their Pictured Key Nature Series. Information can be obtained on the WWW at this location—http://www.wchp.com/
5. Instructors might give some thought to using Wisconsin Fast Plants for the Angiosperm section of this topic. Students could "adopt" a plant and follow it through its life cycle.

classroom suggestions

1. Check out the links for this lab topic at http://auth.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/dolphin/ You will find useful materials for developing your lab introduction or summary, and in some cases, you may want to tell students to connect to a particular site for further information.

ANSWERS TO CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

1. Plants of the divisions Bryophyta, Hepatophyta, and Pteridophyta all require water for fertilization and lack root systems. Also, Bryophytes and Hepatophytes lack vascular tissue. Therefore, these plants are not normally found in desert biomes.
2. Because the precipitation is so high, expect to see all plants requiring water for fertilization such as the divisions Bryophyta, Hepatophyta and Pteridophyta. Evergreen trees of the division Coniferophyta, with their extensive root systems and well-developed vascular tissue are the dominant plants. Division Anthophyta is also represented by smaller plants tolerating low light and high moisture levels.
3. Lignified vascular tissue.
4. Plants must have invaded first to establish the basis of food chains.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS