Research

Detailed Description

Common Name

Paperwhite Narcissus

Scientific Name

Narcissus Papyraceus

Color of Flower

White

Height

16 to 18 inch tall stems

Exposure

full sun to partial shade

Hardiness

reliable in USDA zone 8

Bloom Time

Spring

Bulb Size

About 1.5 to 3 in tall

Key Terms

Bulb

A rounded underground storage organ present in some plants consisting of a short stem surrounded by fleshy scale leaves or leaf bases and lying dormant over winter.

Shoot

A new immature growth of a plant

Root

The usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground.

Meristem

Undifferentiated tissue from which new cells are formed, as at the tip of a stem or root. Meristems are areas in plants where mitosis occurs, and due to this cell division, it is also where growth occurs.

Apical Meristem

the apical meristems responsible for vertical growth can be found at the root and shoot (apex) tips.

Lateral Meristem 

 Lateral meristems can be found at the tip of lateral growths in the plant.

Zone of Maturation

The area above the zone of elongation in a plant where root cell differentiation and tissue specialization occur.

Zone of Elongation

The area above the root apical meristem of a plant where cells extend by water uptake, thereby dramatically increasing root length.

Root Cap

A mass of parenchymtous cells which covers and protects the growing cells at the end of a root.

Tropism

An involuntary orienting response; positive or negative reaction to a stimulus source.

Gravitropism

Directional growth of a plant organ in response to a gravitational field. roots grow downwards, shoots grow upwards. Achieved by differential growth on the sides of the root or shoot. A gravitation field is thought to be sensed by sedimentation of statoliths (starch grains) in root caps.

Thigmotropism

A movement toward or away from a touch stimulus on the part of a portion of an organism, such as leaves or tendrils.

Phototropism

movement or growth of part of an organism (e.g. A plant shoot) towards (positive phototropism) a source of light, without overall movement of the whole organism. An orienting response to light.The directional growth of meristems in response to the presence of light and the direction it is coming from. Positive phototropism is a directional growth towards the light while a negative response is the organism moving away from the light.

Photoperiodism

Events triggered by duration of illumination or pattern of light/dark cycles: often the wavelength of the illuminating light is important, as, for example, in control of circadian rhythm in plants

Xylem

A type of vascular tissue in terrestrial plants composed of tracheary elements, tracheids and wood vessels and of additional xylem fibers, and is primarily involved in transporting water and nutrient (from the roots to the shoot and leaves) and providing structural support.

Phloem

A tissue in a vascular plant that functions primarily in transporting organic food materials (e.g. sucrose) from the photosynthetic organ (leaf) to all the parts of the plant.

Plant Hormone Chart

Background Questions

Explain the process of photosynthesis, including reactants, products, and structures that support moving materials in, out of, and around the plant. 

The process of photosynthesis is made up of two reactions: the light-dependent and the light-independent. The light-dependent reaction begins when photons of light strike a leaf and excite the electrons of chlorophyll in the chloroplasts, which live in the palisade parenchyma. The These electrons proceed through an electron transport chain which produces energy in the form of ATP and electron carriers, or NADPH.

CO2 is acquired through the stroma in the leaf and the calvin cycle begins. CO2 combines with 5-carbon ribulose bisphosphate to form an unstable 6-carbon molecule. ATP and NADPH make 12 G3P. Phloem are used to carry glucose and other molecules throughout the plant. Similarly, xylem move water in and out of the plant.

Explain the process of apical shoot meristem and apical root meristem.  Include in your discussion, the zone of maturation, zone of elongation, zone of cell division and the function of the root cap.  Make sure to mention if this is primary growth or secondary growth.  

A meristem is undifferentiated cells in areas where growth can take place. It gives rise to new plant growth in a shoot, or flowers, and a root. These cells divide rapidly. The central zone holds stem cell function and meristem maintenance. 
Elongation occurs behind the root cap and produces cells that give rise to a plant. It will stretch and lengthen as small vacuoles within cytoplasm and fill with water. Maturation is complete differentiation. At the quiescent center, cells divide slower. The protoderm gives rise to the epidermis, the procambium the phloem and xylem.