Biology EC Worksheet_plants_

Phylogenetics.  The following questions refer to the cladogram below, which depicts a recent phylogeny of plants.  Note that character changes are noted by a hash mark (―).

1. What taxon was used as the outgroup in this analysis? _____________________
2. How many steps are present on this cladogram? __________
3. Are the seedless vascular plants monophyletic, paraphyletic, or polyphyletic? How do you know?

4. Are the Seed plants a monophyletic, paraphyletic, or polyphyletic clade? If they are monophyletic, what synapomorphy(ies) define it?

5. Put a circle on the cladogram at/around the common ancestor of the Vascular plants.
6. Put a square on the cladogram at/around the common ancestor of Stoneworts and Lycophytes.
7. Are there any polytomies on this cladogram? If so, label them on the cladogram.  If not, write an X to the right of the cladogram (hint: polytomy is an unresolved node – back to Week 8 and 9 material!)
8. What lineage are the ferns most closely related to? _____________________________
9. Vessel elements are highly derived plant tissue that increase water conduction efficiency in plants. Are vessel elements homologous or convergent traits? How do you know? one sentence please.

10. Circle the correct answer:

Pollen is the (male / female) gametophyte.  Seeds are the (male / female) gametophyte.

11. In lecture, we discussed the evolutionary trend towards the terrestrialization of plants. Using the word bank above, describe 4 major adaptations that allowed plants to colonize land. You may discuss adaptations related to survival and/or reproduction. Do not forget to include and define any relevant anatomical features and/or survival strategies.

12. List three modes of dispersal for plants (i.e. how are pollen and seeds dispersed)?

13. List three types of pollinators:

14. Describe 5 ecosystem services of plants: