Video Transcript
Which of the following groups of
organisms would be described as a species? (A) Herbs, (B) trees, (C) shrubs,
or (D) sunflowers.
Let’s start by clarifying what a
species is. A species is a group of organisms
with similar characteristics that can breed together to produce fertile
offspring. Herbs, trees, and shrubs are large
categories of plants that include many different individual types. For example, herbs may include
oregano, dill, basil, and more. Trees could include oak, cypress,
and pine. And shrubs could include any number
of woody plants, such as boxwood, holly, or berries like blueberry.
These individual types within these
categories may be classified as individual species. However, the large category is not
an individual species. The different types of plants
within these categories will not necessarily be able to interbreed and produce
fertile offspring. Most likely they could not. And so the entire category is not a
species.
Sunflowers on the other hand are a
single type of flowering plant. This would meet the definition of a
species. So the correct answer to this
question is (D). The answer choice that would be
correctly described as a species is sunflowers.
