Newt's final picture

Newt has grown so much over the course of 8 weeks. Here is one last picture showing how tall he ended up.

Newt's node and internode

Here is a picture showing Newt's nodes and internodes.

Root Hairs

Both Mitt and Newt have root hairs which increase the surface area of their roots allowing them to absorb more water.

Adoption

I have been trying very hard and have gone through a ton of paperwork to adopt a baby bean of my own who I will name Mitt. I finally got the first picture of him from Googlandia.Here he is just sprouting:

Here are some of the more pictures of him showing how much he is growing. You are able to see his roots, his cotyledons, and first true leaves.

His birth parents sent me this funny picture of him exhibiting a tropism. It is him leaning towards the source of light. Take a look:

Newt's Structure

Here is also a pic of a bean's structure:

Still Growing

More evidence that Newt is still growing bigger.

Kid's Growth Explained

I figured sine my boys have been growing so much lately that I would take the time to explain how they are growing. The Meristem is what starts all the growth. The Meristems are regions made of small undifferentiated cells that are capable of cell division and growth in plants. There are two types of Meristems and they control different types of growth. There are the apical meristems which gives rise to the primary plant body, and there are the lateral meristems which are responsible for secondary growth. Primary growth in a plant consists of the everyday growth of a plant. Such as the growth and formation of the primary cortex, primary xylem, and primary phloem. Primary growth also causes the plant to grow taller.  Secondary growth is when the plant grows wider. Secondary growth occurs within a thin layer of constantly dividing cells, called the vascular cambium, which is between the xylem and phloem. The vascular cambium is a group of undifferentiated cells that when they start dividing can be specialized into either secondary xylem or secondary phloem. During secondary growth when the secondary phloem is increasing in thickness, the primary phloem is decreasing in thickness.This forms the cork cambium which is an outer layer of thick tissue. The function of the cork cambium is to direct its undifferentiated cells to become specialized to form cork, a tough outer layer around the plant. Tree bark is an example of cork cambium's handy work. All of this growth has to be controlled by something. All this growth is controlled by hormones. One very important hormone is called auxin. This hormone is responsible for root initiation and growth.It controls the growth of pre-existing roots and branching of the roots. Another very important hormone that works hand-in-hand with auxin is Cytokinin. This hormone is responsible for telling the lateral buds when to grow. It works right with auxin in the fact that they have to be at certain levels for different growth to occur. Yet another very important hormone is Gibberellin. Gibberellin is responsible for regulating growth and also for influencing various developmental processes. Such processes include stem elongation, germination,  dormancy, flowering, and sex expression. This is how my kidos grow.

Newt is huge

Newt is getting so big that I had to upgrade his crib. He now has a red solo cup crib.

Newt's seen tropism

A plant tropism is when a plant moves or turns based on biological factors or stimuli. I observed Newt exhibiting a tropism. The tropism he exhibited is called a heliotropism. This means he leans towards the sun in order to get as much light to his leaves as possible for photosynthesis. Take a look:

My children's Life Cycle

In plant reproduction things can get a little complicated. So I am here to try to help explain things and make it simpler to understand how my babies will reproduce. All plants have an alteration of generations between a haploid Gametophyte generation and a diploid Sporophyte generation. The Sporophyte generation has a double set of chromosomes. In Angiosperms most of their life cycle is spent in the Sporophyte generation. In the Sporophyte stage what happens is the Sporophyte produces spores through meiosis. These meirospores then become Gametophytes, splitting into either male or female gametes. Then when a male and female gamete fuse, a diploid zygote is produced. This then makes a new Sporophyte which continues the alteration of generations. When a plant is in the Gametophyte generation the reproduction is quite different. During this generation meiocytes, or cells having gone through meiosis to produce four haploid gametes, male from the tassel and female from the ear shoot will meet. One male gametophyte will fuse with the egg nucleus of a female gametophyte, and the diploid zygote develops into the embryo. Then another male gametophyte will fuse with two polar nuclei in the center of the female gametophyte, forming a triploid cell that generates the endosperm tissue to form around the embryo. This will provide the nutrients to the embryo during germination. A diagram is given below to illustrate the alteration of generations in plants.

My Mini Me's Reproduction

How my children reproduce is just like any other flowering plant, and all monocots and dicots are considered flowering plants, or Angiosperms. Being an Angiosperm means that they produce seeds, flower and some produce fruit. Their reproduction is quite simple. Take a look at the diagram and it will explain all.

There is also a phenomenon associated with Angiosperms called Double Fertilization. This is when one egg, or female gamete, is fertilized by two male sperms, or male gametes. This results in one forming the diploid zygote and the other forms the triploid primary endosperm nucleus.

Back from Vacation

I cannot believe how much Newt grew while I was gone.

From the day I left

From the day I got back

Babysitter

I am heading off on a trip for Spring Break and will be leaving Newt with my parents as a babysitter.

He's growing so fast

Newt is growing so fast, I just can't keep up. Here see for yourself:

What my boys does with their water

First my kids gets all of their water from the soil and this water comes from me watering them daily.The soil provides the water and nutrients necessary for them to grow. The water is absorbed by the roots and begins the water cycle inside them. The water first encounters the Xylem, which is a bunch of dead cells. Their job is to transport the water through the plant using tension to pull the water up from the roots through the vascular tissue, to all parts of the plant. While this water is being transported through the plant, it is blocked from entering the main parts of the roots and stem by the Casparian Strip. This is a band of cell wall like material, used to block water from entering certain parts of the plant. Once the plant has used the water it will sweat it off, so to speak. This process of the plant "sweating" is known as Transpiration. Another neat thing that my boys do is called Turgor pressure. This is where they ex-spell water from their cells in order to balance out their osmotic pressure to make sure they do not burst. During this process the leaves regulate the exchange of the gases carbon dioxide and oxygen through the Stomata. The Stomata are tiny pores on the leaves, stem, flowers, and roots that sweat off the water. There are specialized cells called guard cells that regulate the size of the Stomata opening in order to control how much gas is exchanged.

How My Boys Eat

My boys get their food up from the soil through a process known as translocation. Their Phloem is what actually carries the nutrients, mainly sucrose, to all the parts of their body where he needs it. The Phloem consists of two types of cells, Conducting cells and Parenchyma cells. The conducting cells are the cells that are actually responsible for moving the nutrients though the plant. The Parenchyma cells are generally used for food storage.

Family Relationships

Newt is a baby monocot. This means that monocots like him develop flowers in 3s, unlike his dicot brother who will develop them in 4s and 5s. His vascular bundles, the transport system,  will be scattered whereas his cousins will be ring structured. His roots will be fibrous and not a taproot like his little brother will develop. I am proud to say that Newt is related to grass, palm, and orchids. Where his little brother is related to the mighty oak, rose, and sunflower. I am proud of who my kids are related to.

Roots

Newt has finally decided to plant his roots somewhere. He has developed not only his primary or tap root but also some visible lateral roots. Take a gander:

Newt has a new leaf

When I got home today I looked and saw that Newt has developed the beginnings of another leaf. Check it out:

Quick Growth

With kids it seems like you turn around or blink your eye and they have grown even more. Newt has now fully developed his first leaf. Take a look:

Signs of first leaf

Newt has grown so much that he is showing signs of his first leaf. You can see it coming up quite clearly. Take a look for yourself.

Growth Spurt

You should see how much Newt has grown, just in such a short period of time. I think he is going to be tall like his dad.

Newt's Growing Fast

You would not believe how fast Newt's Coleoptile is growing. Take a look for yourself.

First Sprout

My soil just broke and up shot Newt. You can see his Coleoptile which will be visible until he gets his first leaf.

This is the first pic of Newt breaking the surface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How they grow ie. Germination

The first factor that will help your babies grow is a thing called Imbibition. Imbibition allows the seed to absorb the water you are giving it. You do not want to over or under water them because this will cause your babies to die and nobody wants to kill their babies. You also have to give your babies heat in the form of sunlight. This aids in the development because every baby needs a certain amount of warmth to be like their blanket. They also need clean air because they need to metabolize their food which they are getting from the soil they are planted in.

Explanation of labeled ultra sound pics

The embryo of the babies is where the actual "baby" develops and will eventually emerge from the seed casing. The Cotyledon is what protects the embryo and supplies the food to the baby.  A bean plant has two of these, so we call it a dicot. Whereas, corn has only one, which is why it is referred to as a monocot. A corn plant has something different than a bean plant. It has an endosperm, which is the stored food for the baby.

Ultra Sound

Here are some pics from  my ultra sounds of the baby corn and baby bean plants.

Still Waiting

I am still anxiously awaiting the arrival of my babies. You know the old saying, a watched plant never grows.

Awaiting Their Arrival

Just finished decoratring the nurseries for my bouncing baby plants. Here are the pics:



Ron and Rick's Nursery Pic




Mitt and Newt's Nursery Pic



First Entry

Just found out that I will be having quadruplets. Two baby corn plants and two baby bean plants. The baby corn plants will be named Mitt and Newt. The beans plants will be named Rick and Ron. Below are the first pictures of my babies.

Newt

Mitt  

 Rick

Ron