The YTC Bio 102 class visited the Landsford Canal State Park in Catawba SC this past Wednesday. During the visit, we were more than privileged to see many different species of plants and animals making observations, analysing and photographing those that were most interesting to us.

Landsford Canal State Park


Mosses and ferns were my first choice of plants to observe.

Mosses

The picture above is that of mosses. Mosses, or Sphagnum phylum Bryophyta, are seedless non-vascular plants. They produce reproductive structure called spores. The multicellular organ called sporangia produces the spores which goes under meiosis, alternating generations from haploid to diploid, gametophyte and sporophyte. The gametophyte is anchored by not roots but rhizoids, which are long tubular figments of cells that do not play a primary roll in water and mineral absorption. Mosses grow in moist environments because the bryophyte sperm requires water to reach the egg. Because of this, sexual reproduction between the separate male and female gametophytes is more successful when the two are close to another.

Ferns

From phylum pterophytes, ferns are seedless vascular plants. Ferns carry their spores in little capsules called underneath their leaves called sori. Wind can disperse the spores far from the original plant. Unlike mosses, ferns have vascular tissue which are cells joined into tubes that transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Xylem transports the water throughout the plant through use of tracheids which carry the water and minerals up from the roots. Phloem distributes sugars amino acids, and other organic products throughout the plant. The young leaf of a fern is called a fiddlehead.

Conifers



Along our nature walk at Landsford Canal State Park, I noticed a lot of Pinophyta, or pine trees which are gymnosperms. Gymnosperms are seed plants. Seeds consist of an embryo (a new sporophyte which is diploid) and its food supply (the female gametophyte tissue) surrounded by a protective coat called the seed coat. These seeds are disperse by wind or other means and are key adaptation that helped seed plants to become dominant producers on land. The main sexual organs of seed plants are the egg, located in the female ovary, and sperm, located in the male pollen grain. The transfer of pollen to the part of the seed plant that contains the ovules is called pollination.

Southern Magnolia


The Southern Magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora, is an example of an angiosperm. All angiosperms are classified in the phylum Anthophya and are flower/fruit baring plants. The flower is specialized for sexual reproduction  Insects or animals transfer pollen from one flower to the sex organs on the next which makes this pollination more directed than that of gymnosperms. Flowers are made up of the primary structures of sepals, petals, ovary in the carpel and stamen. A fruit is a matured ovary that protect seeds. Fruits can be fleshy or dry. The Southern Magnolia is a woody magnoliid. Magnoliid consist of about 8,000 species.

Rocky Shoals Spider Lily



The Rocky Shoals Spider Lily, Hymenocallis coronaria, blooms in the Catabwa River in May and early June. The Spider Lily is aquatic perennial plant species only found in Alabama, Geaorgia and South Carolina.  The Shoals Spider Lily is a monocot angiosperm plant. It  flourishes in swift, shallow water currents and direct sunlight, growing to be about 3 feet tall. It develops a bulb that lodges in cracks in rocky shoals hence the name. The lily blossom opens over night and last for one day, pollinated by sphinx moths and swallowtail butterflies.

Works Cited

Destination of Marvel. Digital image. Earth Science/Social Human Science/Earth's History and Evolution/ Earth Yesterday Today and Tomorrow-Climate/climate Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://destinationofmarvel.blogspot.com/2011/10/mosses-ferns-and-conifers.html>.

Fertilizing Conifers. Digital image. Things About Trees. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://treekb.com/fertilizing-conifers/>.

The Forest Floor Free Backgrounds from OzarkLand.com. Digital image. The Forest Floor Free Backgrounds from OzarkLand.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.ozarkmountainimages.com/ForestFloor/ForestFloor.htm>.

Hymenocallis Coronaria. Digital image. Zenfolio. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.janehoganphotography.com/favorites/h36F31836>.

Jas&Suz. Landsford Canal State Park. Digital image. Flickr. Yahoo!, 12 May 2008. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/greerjasona/2487684298/>.

Southern Magnolia. Digital image. Augusta, GA. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.augustaga.gov/index.aspx?NID=1632>.