EVOLUTION & TAXONOMY

DATE: Tuesday, October 13, 2015

TIME: 10:47 AM

WEATHER CONDITIONS: At the time of observation, it was 68˚F outside. There was no precipitation during the time of observation. There was 29.79 in. of atmospheric pressure. The average humidity was 73%. It was pretty breezy throughout the day of observation, and it was mostly sunny. 

CHANGES: Some of the leaves are beginning to turn brown, and there are many dead leaves scattered around the trunk. Some of the branches are completely bare. I observed several acorns around the base of the trunk, but I did not observe any squirrels or bugs on or around the tree.

EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION: Green algae have the same photosynthetic pigments found in other plants. There is many structural, genetic, and chemical data that also justifies this hypothesis.

ADAPTATIONS: 

1. Vascular Tissue - This is the tissue in plants that carry water and nutrients throughout the plant. This is considered an adaptation because not all plants live adjacent to a body of water, so they had to develop other ways to spread water throughout their systems. 

2. Seeds - A seed is essentially a miniature plant with a protective cover that has a built-in food supply made up of proteins, carbohydrates, or fats. This is considered an adaptation because it has allowed plants to overcome dry environments and the lack of upright growth.

3. Flowers - A flower is the seed-bearing part of the plant. It is considered an adaptation because different flowers adapt to the specific climate and environment their tree lives in. For an example, flowers that are pollinated by the wind are much smaller and have a flatter surface, therefore making it easier to be swept up by the wind and transported long distances. 

4. Others - In terms of the Oak tree, 3 helpful adaptations include: deep taproots that help gather water, single trunks with high branching that allows them to stretch tall over all other trees, and holding on to its brown leaves well into the winter.

PLANT PHYLOGENY:

PLANT CLASSIFICATION:

1. Bryophytes (mosses) - Small, non-vascular land plants that grow clumped together on rocks, soil, or the trunks of trees. One example is Capillary Thread-moss (Bryum Capillare).

2. Seedless vascular plants (ferns) - Contain vascular tissue, but do not produce flowers or seeds. One example is Whisk Fern (Psilotum).

3. Gymnosperms (pine trees) - Plants that have seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit. One example is a Cycad (Cycadophyta).

4. Angiosperms (flowering plants) - Plants that have flowers and produces seeds that are enclosed within a carpel, or the female reproductive organ in a flower. One example of this very broad group is a Magnolia Tree (Magnolia Grandiflora).

SPECIES: A species is a group of similar organisms living and reproducing with one another. The Turkey Oak is considered its own species, separate from the broader Oak umbrella, because of its many unique distinctions. It has a much more rapid growth, mossy-cupped acorns, and it keeps its leaves on its branches well into the winter season, unlike most other tree species. 

REFERENCES:

• http://www.ext.colostate.edu/mg/gardennotes/137.html
• https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/110Master/Plants+I+-+Evolution+and+Diversity,+and+Non-Vascular+Plants
• http://www.botanical-online.com/floresadaptacionesangles.htm
• http://garden.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Oak
• http://bryophytes.plant.siu.edu/bryojustified.html
• https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks/boundless-biology-textbook/seedless-plants-25/seedless-vascular-plants-157/seedless-vascular-plants-613-11833/