Aashika

Eukaryote – an organism whose cells contain nuclei. The presence of a nucleus is the key characteristic differentiating a eukaryote from a prokaryote. The squirrel on the ledge is a multi-cellular organism and a eukaryote.

Frond - an often large, finely divided leaf. The leaf of a fern plant is an example of a frond. I took the following pictures amid multiple ferns in my music teacher’s backyard.

Fruit: dry with seed – Dry fruits are one of two broad categories of seed-bearing fruit, in which the entire pericarp becomes dry once the fruit reaches maturity. The acorns from the oak tree in my backyard are dry fruits with seeds.

Fruit: fleshy with seed – Fleshy fruits are the second of two broad categories of seed-bearing fruit, where the pericarp and the rest of the fruit are made up of succulent tissues. The apple from the crab-apple tree in my backyard is surprisingly small, no larger than the size of one or two acorns, in fact. It is a fleshy fruit containing seeds.

Gymnosperm cone – a cone-shaped structure with seeds that are not enclosed by a protective fruit. Our pine tree, for instance, produces pine cones which are gymnosperm cones. When these pine cones fall in optimal soil, they grow into new pine trees.

Lichen – a complex organism that consists of a fungus in symbiotic union with an algae, typically found on trees and rocks. The lichen that I found was greenish in color, and it was growing on a couple damp rocks by my friend’s pool.

Pollen – powdery yellowish grains or spores that serve as the fertilizing element of flowering plants. We planted cantaloupe in our garden this year, and although no fruits have come up yet, plenty of cantaloupe flowers abound; each cantaloupe flower has a yellow center containing pollen.

Pollinator – an agent, often times an insect, that carries pollen from one flower to another to accomplish fertilization. A butterfly is an example of a pollinator. As the butterfly draws up a flower’s nectar with its proboscis (a mouthpart that acts as a straw), its legs accumulate pollen. Then the butterfly flies over to another flower and pollinates it.

Herbaceous stem – a green, brittle plant stem with little or no woody tissue. The banana pepper plants in our garden are annuals, meaning they die after one season and we have to plant new ones in the spring. Basically, the stem has only a year to mature before the winter chill gets to it; thus, banana pepper plants have green, herbaceous stems.

Woody stem – a stem of a plant that has been growing for over two years, thickening and accumulating woody tissue. Herbaceous stems grow thick and woody after two years of life, which is why most plants with woody stems are perennials. This oak tree branch has a woody stem.

Last Pictures

A woody stem is one that grows in a rigid wood-like consistency. While trees are famous for this, over shrub plants such as blackberry bushes also have woody stems. This is a blackberry plant.

Herbaceous stems are ones that remain green, limber, and non-woody. Many plants follow under this category including waxy plants such as cacti, allow, and other such plants. Of course normal plants also fall under this category, like this onion plant.

When people think of symmetry they usually think of splitting something in half and getting an even shape on each side. Radial symmetry, on the other hand, is when you have an object that looks the same depending on however much you rotate it. If it weren't for the tears, then this toadstool (or is it a mushroom?) would have perfect radial symmetry, meaning that no matter how far or to what degree it is turned it will still have the same shape.

Pollinators, like this butterfly (It's in the center on the flower), are important for the reproduction of angiosperms. These creatures have developed ways of drinking the nectar the plant hold to lure it so that they accidentally pick up its pollen to take it to the next one.

This tick is a parasite: a creature who uses another creature for its own gain while harming the other creature, but not directly killing it. Numerous parasites will steal nutrients from its host, such as water, blood, or other parts. Many examples of parasites are Ticks, mosquitoes, tapeworms, and leeches.

Insects, a type of arthropod, have numerous common themes that separate them from other arthropods. first they have three pairs of legs, unlike arachnids who have eight. They also have three different body parts: The head, thorax (chest-like part), and the abdomen (the butt-like part). This ant is an insect and shows all these traits.

Cellulose is a form of sugar that plants produce to create their cell walls. It is the reason why plants are crunchy and the main building-block in tree bark. In order for organisms to be able to break down cellulose they usually need a special enzyme or bacteria in their stomachs to break it down into simpler sugars.All plants are autotrophs, meaning they all produce their own energy by absorbing it from the sun. I chose this picture of a tree because it looks like its reaching to the sun for more light.

Arthropods, translated from Greek meaning "joint foot", are any creature that has an exoskeleton and numerous joints upon their legs and such. The different categories of Arthropod are Insect, mentioned above, Arachnids, having four pairs of limbs, Crustaceans, aquatic Arhtropods like crabs and lobsters, and Bugs, such as millipedes and centipedes. The creature in the picture is a spider, which is an arachnid.