Plant Evolution and Taxonomy: Click here for a printable version

Introduction:
During this field trip we will be concentrating on the evolution of plants and their progression from simple to complex organisms. Observation of actual plant examples and their adaptive features will be possible. This field trip is most effective if your students have already studied plant evolution and the binomial classification system.

Some terms we will be using during your visit:

bryophytes
sporophyte
gametophyte
tracheophytes
sori
gymnosperms
conifers
ginkgos
angiosperms
monocots
dicots

Pre-visit activity:
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Guided field trip: (2 hours)
An experienced horticulturist and educator will guide your students on a walking trip of our planting fields and some of the grounds. Your students will be shown examples of plants following their evolutionary progression from mosses to angiosperms. Adaptive plant structures will be discussed and observed whenever possible depending on the time of the year.

Following your visit to GHHF your students should be able to:

name several adaptations plants have made to life on land

describe adaptive structures that allow plants to reproduce without standing water

briefly outline the evolutionary history of seed plants

discuss reasons angiosperms are the most successful of the land plants

list several methods of pollination in seed plants