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