20 points – due in lab on April 19-21
General Guidelines – 1 to 3 pages max. Margins of 1 inch and use a font that is easy to read and no
smaller than 11 point. The requested information below comes directly from your weekly guide
sheets. Use the information and examples from those guide sheets in this report. Your report
should be written as a narrative essay. This URL provides information on a narrative essay
(http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/04/).
-Introductory Information:
Include the following information: the plant family that Pelargonium belongs to, the number of
species of Pelargonium, location where most species are naturally found and the economic
importance of Pelargonium.
-Specific Information:
Include leaf morphology information such as leaf arrangement, simple or compound leaves,
petiolate or sessile and stipulate or astipulate. This section should also include original hand
drawings of the stem and leaf anatomy of Pelargonium. (You may scan/photocopy the drawings
you did for your guide sheet, but do not use pictures from the internet!!). Include labels of the
primary tissues for both drawings. Discuss the effect that competition has on Pelargonium stem
length, lateral stem development and root development.
Include information about the number of genes thought to control orange flower color. What is
the genotype of a plant with orange flowers? In order to obtain seed that will yield orange
flowered-plants, what would be the phenotypes of the parental flowers?
Name two characteristics of geraniums listed in the guide sheet that researchers are trying to
improve using biotechnology.
Describe diseases listed in the guide sheet that can affect Pelargonium caused by a fungus,
bacterium and protist. Include the causal organisms and the symptoms you would find on a
Pelargonium plant infected with these diseases.
Include information about the number of sepals, petals, total stamens, fertile stamens and stigma
lobes/carpels.
Is Pelargonium a monocot or a dicot? Include supporting evidence such as leaf venation pattern,
stem anatomy and flower structure.
-Conclusion:
Describe your experiences growing your own Pelargonium plant at home. Did you choose to grow
the extra credit plant or not? If so, have you been successful in keeping it alive and what
challenges have you encountered in keeping it alive? If it died, at what point during the semester
did it die and what do you think was the probable cause of death?
-References:
List all references consulted in preparing your paper. Include books, papers, websites, etc. When
citing a website, list the URL and the date you visited that site.