Since 1988 the plant Crupina vulgaris or the Common Crupina has been listed as a class A weed, it has invaded many parts of the Western United States, its has become a growing concern for many as it can grow quickly and is difficult to get rid of. C. vulgaris is native to Mediterranean Europe. It is a flowering plant, or angiosperm from the family Asteraceae, that can grow up to three feet tall. The stems of the plant are leafy and rigid with small spines and rounded 1/2 inch leaves near the bottom and dark lacy 4 inch leaves on the stem. The flowers of the Common Crupina are clustered on the stems, they are thin, lavender and shaped like a vase. The Common Crupina reproduces through seed development, so it can spread in hay transported from
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Common Crupina has been able to invade so much of the West Coast because it can withstand most climates and soil types. The plant grows in large solid groups that can reduce the amount of other grasses and plants in the area. It is very successful because it grows in grasslands and pastures but is repulsive to livestock. Crupina will take over fields that it grows in, it outcompetes the other wild grasses and plants, lowering the biodiversity and in pastures it can destroy the livestocks source of food. In areas with steep slopes such as the canyons in Idaho, the large stands of Crupina could increase erosion. They mature fast and when they die they do not leave large amounts of biomass to protect the soil. One method that has been used to try and control the Crupina outbreak is using chemicals and pesticides to try and kill the plants. The problem with these treatments, are that many of them cannot be used repeatedly as they …show more content…
The stamen consists of a filament with an anther on top. The anther contains microsporangium which can produce diploid microsporocytes (2n), a microsporocyte can then undergo meiosis, where it divides twice to produce four haploid microspores (n) which have half of the plants original genes. All four of these microspores will develop into pollen grains which contain the male gametophytes. Inside the gametophytes are two different haploid cells, one is a generative cell (n) that will divide into two sperm when it encounters the stigma and the other is a pollen cell (n) that will form the pollen tube for pollination (Reece et al. 2014). The carpel consists of a stigma, style and ovary. Inside the ovary there are ovules that contain megasporangium (2n) that produce megasporocytes (2n) that can undergo meiosis to produce four megaspores (n). Only one of the megaspores survives, remaining inside the ovule. Integuments surround the ovule closing off nearly all of the ovule except a small opening, known as the micropyle. The process creates the female gametophyte, the embryo sac, which among other things contains an egg and two polar nuclei. Wind or pollinators causes the pollen grain to land on the stigma where it forms the pollen tube which allows the two sperm to travel into the embryo sac. Next comes double fertilization
Common Crupina has been able to invade so much of the West Coast because it can withstand most climates and soil types. The plant grows in large solid groups that can reduce the amount of other grasses and plants in the area. It is very successful because it grows in grasslands and pastures but is repulsive to livestock. Crupina will take over fields that it grows in, it outcompetes the other wild grasses and plants, lowering the biodiversity and in pastures it can destroy the livestocks source of food. In areas with steep slopes such as the canyons in Idaho, the large stands of Crupina could increase erosion. They mature fast and when they die they do not leave large amounts of biomass to protect the soil. One method that has been used to try and control the Crupina outbreak is using chemicals and pesticides to try and kill the plants. The problem with these treatments, are that many of them cannot be used repeatedly as they …show more content…
The stamen consists of a filament with an anther on top. The anther contains microsporangium which can produce diploid microsporocytes (2n), a microsporocyte can then undergo meiosis, where it divides twice to produce four haploid microspores (n) which have half of the plants original genes. All four of these microspores will develop into pollen grains which contain the male gametophytes. Inside the gametophytes are two different haploid cells, one is a generative cell (n) that will divide into two sperm when it encounters the stigma and the other is a pollen cell (n) that will form the pollen tube for pollination (Reece et al. 2014). The carpel consists of a stigma, style and ovary. Inside the ovary there are ovules that contain megasporangium (2n) that produce megasporocytes (2n) that can undergo meiosis to produce four megaspores (n). Only one of the megaspores survives, remaining inside the ovule. Integuments surround the ovule closing off nearly all of the ovule except a small opening, known as the micropyle. The process creates the female gametophyte, the embryo sac, which among other things contains an egg and two polar nuclei. Wind or pollinators causes the pollen grain to land on the stigma where it forms the pollen tube which allows the two sperm to travel into the embryo sac. Next comes double fertilization