Described as among the major terrestrial radiations of life (T. Jonathan Davies et al, 2003) The Flowering Plants also are known as Angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants, with 416 families. There are 250,000 to 400,000 estimated plant species (Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016) (Thorne, R. F. (2002). Flowering plants are distinguished from other plants e.g., gymnosperms because of their distinct characteristics such as their flowers, production of fruit with seeds and endosperm within seeds. In a letter penned to a friend J. D. Hooker on July 22nd, 1879, Darwin describes the rapid diversification of angiosperms as an 'abominable mystery'. The rapid diversification of the flowering plant posed a threat to Darwin’s theory …show more content…
He is best known for his contribution to evolution which is well covered in his book ‘The origin of the species’ (1859) Darwin's scientific discovery is the unifying theory of the life sciences, explaining the diversity of life. Darwin’s theory of evolution is a slow, gradual process. Darwin wrote, "…Natural selection acts only by taking advantage of slight successive variations; she can never take a great and sudden leap, but must advance by short and sure, though slow steps.(Charles Darwin, 1859) The Angiosperm, however, defies this which proved to undermine Darwin’s Theory. Whilst Darwin was unable to find a simple explanation of this ‘abominable mystery’, he inspired many scientists to also research and attempt to find an explanation for this puzzling …show more content…
Insects are the major pollinators of angiosperms whilst gymnosperms were nearly almost all wind pollinated. Insect pollination possessed a competitive advantage as it is more reliable than wind pollination, more precise and successful when wind was ineffective. (Crepet, 1984).Insect-pollinated angiosperms were thought to maintain gene flow over a wider range of population sizes and structures than wind-pollinated (Friis et al..2007). The origin of the angiosperm is among one of the most debated and widely addressed questions in the plant biology, there are still many unanswered questions and blank spaces. The mechanism through which the angiosperm evolved, how it diversified, and why they are so abundant are questions which also remain unsatisfactorily answered. The extraordinary species richness of angiosperms is found to have mixed origins (Maggalon and Castillo 2009) there has been a vast array of compelling evidence proposed by seasoned and proficient scientists such as Darwin. These recent and evidence-backed theories lend more profound and meaningful insights into the rapid diversification of angiosperms, it gives a more detailed and comprehensive information about the structures of plants and its molecular interactions. The role of these in the diversity of plants is difficult to interpret. (Chelsea D. Specht and Madelaine E.
Despite the popular belief that all flowers have an equal opportunity when it comes to attracting pollinators the competition over the basic needs of angiosperms causes the practice of deceptive pollination to be very common. Pollination is in most cases a mutualistic relationship that requires some form of benefit to both the pollinator and the flowering plant. The pollinator is attracted to a flower that looks like they can offer food or shelter. However if the flower lacks the benefit of a reward there is a low chance that the pollinator would find the flower desirable enough to pollinate. It is estimated that a large portion of angiosperms are non-rewarding, as a result most rely on the use of other pollination strategies, such as deception to attract pollinators. In deceptive pollination when a flower advertises a reward that they do not actually posses it is known as mimicry. There are two types of mimicry when it comes to deceptive pollination. The awards that the flower mimics are either nutritive or reproductive.
Charles Darwin was an English biologist who, along with a few others, developed a biological concept that has been vulgarized and attacked from the moment his major work, The Origin of Species, was published in 1859. An accurate and brief picture of his contribution to biology is probably his own: Evolution is transmission with adaptation. Darwin saw in his epochal trip aboard the ship The Beagle in the 1830s what many others had seen but did not draw the proper conclusions. In the Galapagos Islands, off South America, Darwin noted that very large tortoises differed slightly from one island to the next. He noted also that finches also differed from one geographical location to the next. Some had shorter beaks, useful for cracking seeds. Some had long, sharp beaks, useful for prying insects out of their hiding places. Some had long tail feathers, others short ones.
Currently it is estimated that the diversity of plants in the world exceeds 250 000 species, of which only 7000 are cultivated by humans as food, fiber, medicine, forage, with a greater or lesser degree of domestication, excluding ornamental plants, which could reach more than 28,000 cultivated species, although their number continues to increase (Khoshbakht and Hammer, 2008). Of these crops, the most important are cereals and their domestication took place several thousand years ago and probably some ornamental species that accompanied them became part of the crops that the first cloned human populations with aesthetic concerns (Heywood , 2002).
Charles Darwin is a revolutionary naturalist, his theories and discoveries of nature continue to stand two centuries later. Even as a young child, Darwin conveyed his interests in nature and later in his career, furthered his passion as a naturalist spending his earlier years gathering bulky counts of data. While studying at Cambridge University, he accepted the request to work as a naturalist on the scientific ship HMS Beagle collecting biological and geological data. On this excursion, he visited places such as the Galapagos Islands, Australia, and other South American islands to record and collect data. The data and fossils collected confirmed that complex plant life had evolved from a basis plant life. Until 1859, when he published On the
Charles Darwin born 200 years ago changed the world with his discoveries of how life has become about through the ages until present. Darwin set the world on fire with his ideas of how this planet has repopulated it diverse inhabitants that span the globe in different variety of species. These different species range from 6 million to 100 million , have changed throughout the earth's over time by evolution.. Charles Darwin discovered Evolution by his own studies and
Charles Darwin was a man of science. He had a true passion for all things involving both plants and animals. Darwin made many contributions to the field of science, but his main contribution that he is most well-known for involves his theories of evolution, or more specifically, how species tend to change over long periods of time through a process called natural selection. Natural selection is defined by Darwin as the “preservation of favorable variations and the rejections of injurious variations“ (Jacobus 900). Even though many of his theories have now been embraced by the scientific community as natural laws in motion, much controversy remains over whether or not his ideas should be perceived as true scientific law. Despite the discoveries of overwhelming amounts of evidence, many people still believe that evolution is exactly what Darwin called it—a theory, and nothing more.
Evolution is the reason for many different species and their existence. Evolution proves that there is much more to the world than the human can see. Charles Darwin had looked into the eye of the storm, and found something revolutionary. His research has changed and reshaped science in it’s own very existence; changing how scientists see their works. Charles created a new way of thinking, and proven that there is always an alternate reason why something is the way it is, and how it became that way, not to mention he constructed against religion that proves itself to be wrong. Everything has a reason, and evolution has made that reason clear to us, through Darwin’s works.”Charles Darwin is best known for his work as a naturalist, developing a theory of evolution to explain biological change.”
Humans have long recognized that flowers are an indication of future fruits. Therefore it was vital for nomadic hunters to remember where in the wild they saw flowers. And further yet each type of flower produced a specific fruit. Thus fruits and flowers had something in common; the preference of one fruit meant the preference of a type of flower. Most often, as in modern times, the most healthy looking flower shows signs that it will produce quality fruit. The beauty of a flower told hunters that a nutritious fruits would ripen after the flowers bloomed. This concept explains how we have evolved toward preferring healthy looking flowers. But how does this explain the security of a plants reproduction? It is necessary to mention that plants not only produce fruits to stop herbivores from eating the plant, but in their own diabolic plan, plants found a new way to spread their seeds through fruits. Herbivores would eat the fruits an...
Interactions in between plant species are of great importance and often result in fierce competition within the community. Over the past decades, increasing in human activity and movement allowed certain species to migrate beyond their origins and vastly expand in population, plants being one of the most complicated organisms on earth were highly involved in such activity. This enabled invasions by alien plants which poses serious threats and may inflict negative impacts to native species of plants in an certain ecosystem. Due to this nature, it may be concluded that there are certain traits and characteristics in these plants that allowed for the dominance to occur. It is crucial to be able to identify these traits to prevent
Insect pollination as we all know, is the process that enables reproduction and fertilization by the transfer of pollen performed by insects. Insects are some of the oldest pollinators of plants. Pollinating insects date back to 140 million years ago. Since then, due to how effective insect pollinators are, these flowering plants have become the major group of terrestrial vascular plants. Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms, have imperative roles within our ecosystems, both natural and agricultural. For instance, insects provide food, fiber and shelter for wildlife and humankind alike (2007). It is commonly know that in humans, high levels of fruit and vegetable consumption are associated with decreased risk of chronic disease (Calderone 2012). Aside from these important roles, plants have also been considered as a viable option for fuel sources (Calderone 2012). There are around 300,00 species of flowering plants in the world and without pollination, the reproductive process would be very difficult since pollination causes the production of seeds (Calderone 2012). Of the 300,000 plant species worldwide, a little over 3,000 of these plants have been used as a source of food. Close to 300 of these species are grown around the world today and only 12 of these plants make up about 90 percent of the food sources in our world. These 12 include the grains...
The impact these men had on religious thought was tremendous. Some of them are the starting points for many of the controversies existing today. Of all the scientists, historians, and philosophers in the nineteenth century, the most influential and controversial was Charles Darwin. Born in 1809, Charles Darwin always had an interest in the nature, so he chose to study botany in college. His strengths in botany led him to become the naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. On a trip to South America, he and the rest of the crew visited the near by Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It was there he noticed many different variations of the same general plants and birdshe saw previously in South America. He also observed ancient fossils of extinct organisms that closely resembled modern organisms. By 1859, all of these observations inspired him to write down his theories. He wanted to explain how evolution had occurred through a process called natural selection. In his published work, On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, or On the Origin of Species for short, Darwin stated that, "new species have come on the stage slowly and at successive intervals."(1) He also said, "old forms are supplanted by new and improved forms," and all organisms play a part in the "struggle for life.
Prance, Ghillean T., and Mark Nesbitt. The Cultural History of Plants. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.
Charles Darwin was a naturalist born on the 12th of February 1809 in England. Darwin grew up loving nature and went to Edinburgh University. On the trip around the world Darwin collected natural samples including birds, plants and fossils. Darwin found a particular interest in the Pacific islands and South America. When he arrived back in England he wrote up his findings as part of the Captain narrative. Darwin started working on his own theory after coming back from the trip. He observed that species had same characteristics all over the world this lead him to believe that species slowly evolved from their ancestors. In 1859 Charles Darwin published his work in his book On the Origin of Species.
Humans depend on plants in numerous ways. One reason we depend on plants is for consumption. Plants have the unique ability of producing their own food through a process called photosynthesis. In this process, plants are able to produce macromolecules such as carbohydrates that cannot be produced in animals or humans. In humans, the only to gain these macromolecules is to consume plant matter, or consume plant-eating animals (herbivores).
The purpose of this essay is to explore some of the mechanisms involved in the seed dispersal in plants. Plants are some of the most ancient biological organisms on the planet, and over the millennia they have adapted to utilise both the natural resources of the earth and the animals on it in order to spread their seeds. Without a variety of processes plants would be restricted to localised geographical areas, and this would limit their populations. This essay discusses some of the major ways that seeds can be dispersed: wind, water, animals, and gravity. It then includes a brief discussion of the changing globalised landscape, and where this discussion is located in contemporary discourse. The essay closes with a short conclusion.