Plant Diversity and Morphology — Practice

Question 1

The five-kingdom classification was proposed by:
(a) R. H. Whittaker (b) Linnaeus (c) Haeckel (d) Copeland

Accepted Answer

(a) R. H. Whittaker.

Whittaker (1969) proposed the five kingdoms — Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia — using cell structure, body organisation, nutrition and phylogeny.

Question 2

Methanogens, which produce biogas, are found in the gut of:
(a) ruminants (b) humans only (c) fish (d) birds

Accepted Answer

(a) ruminants.

Methanogens (archaebacteria) live in the gut of ruminant animals and in marshes, producing methane (biogas) from organic matter.

Question 3

Nitrogen fixation in cyanobacteria such as Anabaena occurs in specialised cells called:
(a) heterocysts (b) hyphae (c) conidia (d) akinetes

Accepted Answer

(a) heterocysts.

Heterocysts are thick-walled cells in filamentous cyanobacteria (Nostoc, Anabaena) that fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Question 4

Penicillium, which yields the antibiotic penicillin, belongs to which class of fungi?
(a) Ascomycetes (b) Basidiomycetes (c) Phycomycetes (d) Deuteromycetes

Accepted Answer

(a) Ascomycetes.

Penicillium is a sac fungus (Ascomycetes) that produces ascospores in an ascus. Yeast and Aspergillus are also Ascomycetes.

Question 5

A lichen is a symbiotic association between a fungus and:
(a) an alga (b) a moss (c) a bacterium only (d) a fern

Accepted Answer

(a) an alga.

A lichen is a symbiosis of a fungus (mycobiont) and an alga or cyanobacterium (phycobiont); lichens are sensitive pollution indicators.

Question 6

The genetic material of most plant viruses is:
(a) single-stranded RNA (b) double-stranded DNA (c) double-stranded RNA (d) single-stranded DNA

Accepted Answer

(a) single-stranded RNA.

Most plant viruses have single-stranded RNA as their genetic material; bacteriophages usually have double-stranded DNA.

Question 7

Bryophytes are called the 'amphibians of the plant kingdom' because they:
(a) require water for fertilisation (b) live only in water (c) have vascular tissue (d) produce seeds

Accepted Answer

(a) require water for fertilisation.

Bryophytes live on land but need a film of water for their motile male gametes to reach the egg, so — like amphibians — they depend on water to reproduce.

Question 8

The first group of plants to possess vascular tissue (xylem and phloem) is the:
(a) pteridophytes (b) bryophytes (c) algae (d) fungi

Accepted Answer

(a) pteridophytes.

Pteridophytes (ferns and their allies) are the first true vascular plants, though they still reproduce by spores rather than seeds and their sporophyte is dominant.

Question 9

Gymnosperms differ from angiosperms in that they have:
(a) naked seeds (b) enclosed seeds (c) flowers (d) fruits

Accepted Answer

(a) naked seeds.

Gymnosperms (Pinus, Cycas) bear naked seeds not enclosed in a fruit, whereas angiosperms enclose their seeds within a fruit.

Question 10

Parallel venation and a single cotyledon are characteristic of:
(a) monocots (b) dicots (c) gymnosperms (d) pteridophytes

Accepted Answer

(a) monocots.

Monocots have one cotyledon, parallel venation, fibrous roots and floral parts in threes. Dicots have two cotyledons, reticulate venation and a tap root.

Question 11

Pneumatophores (breathing roots) are found in:
(a) mangrove plants (b) carrots (c) potatoes (d) onions

Accepted Answer

(a) mangrove plants.

Mangroves in oxygen-poor marshy soil develop upward-growing pneumatophores (a root modification) to absorb oxygen for respiration.

Question 12

The potato tuber is a modification of the:
(a) stem (b) root (c) leaf (d) flower

Accepted Answer

(a) stem.

The potato tuber is an underground stem modification (it bears 'eyes', which are nodes with buds); a carrot, by contrast, is a modified root.

Question 13

The androecium of a flower is made up of:
(a) stamens (b) sepals (c) petals (d) carpels

Accepted Answer

(a) stamens.

The androecium is the male whorl, composed of stamens (each an anther plus filament). The gynoecium (carpels) is female; calyx is sepals and corolla is petals.

Question 14

Zygomorphic flowers with a papilionaceous corolla and nitrogen-fixing root nodules are characteristic of the family:
(a) Fabaceae (b) Solanaceae (c) Liliaceae (d) Poaceae

Accepted Answer

(a) Fabaceae.

The pea/legume family Fabaceae has zygomorphic papilionaceous flowers, diadelphous stamens and root nodules (with Rhizobium) that fix atmospheric nitrogen.

Question 15

The apple is a false fruit because the edible part develops from the:
(a) thalamus (b) ovary (c) ovule (d) style

Accepted Answer

(a) thalamus.

In a false fruit like the apple, the fleshy edible portion arises from the thalamus rather than the ovary; a true fruit develops only from the ovary.

Practice — Plant Diversity and Morphology

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