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PLANT TAXONOMY

Kingdom Plantae Plants - Basic Vocabulary

 They are eukaryotic, multicellular and autotrophic organisms.
 Primarily terrestrial eukaryotes
 Plant cell contains a rigid cell wall.
 Plants have chloroplast and chlorophyll pigment, which is required
for photosynthesis
▪ They are non-motile.
▪ Approximately 265,000 different types of plants exist today. Plants
began the transition to land about 425 million years ago.
 They reproduce asexually by vegetative propagation or sexually
Alternation of generations .
 They have different organelles for anchorage, reproduction, support
and photosynthesis.
 Plants play a critical role as producers in the world's food webs;
using photosynthesis to produce organic biomass and releasing
oxygen as an end-product.
• vascular tissue - plant tissues that consist of
cells that transport water and nutrients
throughout the plant body. The two major
types are xylem and phloem.
– xylem - vascular tissue that carries water
and minerals from the roots to the rest of
the plant.
– phloem - vascular tissue that carries sugar
and organic nutrients (sap) throughout the
plant.
• gametophyte - multicellular, haploid stage of
the life cycle that produces haploid gametes
that fuse to form the diploid sporophyte
• sporophyte - multicellular, diploid stage of the
life cycle that through meiosis produces haploid
gametes that become the gametophyte

Basis of classification
1. Plant body: Presence or absence of a well-
differentiated plant body. E.g. Root, Stem and
Leaves.
2.Vascular system: Presence or absence of a
vascular system for the transportation of water
and other substances. E.g. Phloem and Xylem.
3. Seed formation: Presence or absence of flowers
and seeds and if the seeds are naked or
enclosed in a fruit.

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Division Thallophyta
• Thallophytes lack a well-
differentiated body
structure and the plant
body is thallus like.
• includes plants with
primitive and simple body
structure.
• they may be filamentous,
colonial, branched or
unbranched. Examples
include green algae, red
algae and brown algae.
2 subdivisions of Thallophyta :
ALGAE
➢ They are chlorophyll-bearing
thalloid.
➢ they are autotrophic and largely
aquatic plants
➢ Algae exist in environments
ranging from oceans, rivers, and
lakes to ponds, and even snow.
➢ Algae are usually green, but they are present.
can be found in a variety of
different colors.
For instance, algae living in snow
contain carotenoid pigments in
addition to chlorophyll,
hence giving the surrounding snow
a distinctive red hue.
Pteridophyta Spermatophyta
Red Algae
Also called Rhodophyta, it is a distinctive
species found in marine as well as
freshwater ecosystems. The pigments
phycocyanin and phycoerythrin are
responsible for the characteristic red
coloration of the algae.
Otherpigments that provide green
coloration (such as chlorophyll a)
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Plant Kingdom
Tracheophytes Atracheophytes
Bryophyta Thallophyta
1. They are usually found in moist or wet places.
2. This is due to the absence of “true roots” and vascular tissue that is needed to
transport water and minerals. Hence they are found in moist or wet places.
3. They are autotrophic in nature.
4. Most members of this group manufacture their own food. But a few members
like fungi are dependent on other sources of food.,
5. Reserve food is generally starch.
6. After photosynthesis, glucose is produced and consumed almost immediately,
the remaining glucose is converted into complex compounds called starch.
7. They have a cell wall composed of cellulose around their cells.
8. Absence of vascular tissue.
9. Sex organs are simple, single-celled, there is no embryo formation after
fertilization.
Green Algae
It is a large, informal grouping of algae having the primary photosynthetic
pigments chlorophyll a and b, along with auxiliary pigments such as
xanthophylls and beta carotene.
Higher organisms use green algae to conduct photosynthesis for them.
Other species of green algae have a symbiotic relationship with other
organisms.
Members are unicellular, multicellular, colonial and flagellates. Prominent
examples of green algae include Spirogyra, Ulothrix, Volvox, etc.
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2. Fungi
• They are achlorophyllous
• heterotrophic thallophytes.
• Sometimes, to overcome this handicap,
fungi may develop a symbiotic relationship
with an alga or a cyanobacterium.
• The algae can produce food as it has
chlorophyll and the fungi in return provide a
safe environment that shields the algae
from UV rays. Lichen is an example where
two organisms act as a single unit.
• Mosses – class Bryopsida
• Liverworts – class Marchantiopsida
• Hornworts – class Anthocerotopsida
• Class Psilopsida
• Lycopsida –
clubmoss
• Sphenopsida
horsetail
• Pteropsida- ferns
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Bryophyta
• Bryophytes do not have vascular tissues.
• The plant body has root-like, stem-like and leaf-like
structures.
• Bryophytes are terrestrial plants but known as “amphibians
of the plant kingdom” as they require water for sexual
reproduction.
• They are present in moist and shady places.
• Bryophyta includes mosses, hornworts and liverworts.
Some of the common examples are Marchantia, Funaria,
Sphagnum, Antheoceros, etc.
Division Pteridophyta
• Pteridophytes have a well-differentiated plant
body into root, stem and leaves.
• They have a vascular system for conduction of
water and other substances.
• Pteridophytes are considered as the first plants
to be evolved on land
• They are cryptogams, seedless
Division Spermatophyta
• This division comprises all the seed bearing plants.
• They are familiar green plants which produce seeds
through flowers or cones.
• The plant has roots, stems, leaves and seed bearing
structures
• They produce seeds
• They have chlorophyll hence photosynthetic
• They have vascular tissue is highly developed with
xylem tissue consisting of both xylem tissue and
tracheids
• Gymnospermata and angiospermata
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• Gymnospermatophyta Coniferophyta (conifers)

(550 species)
Gymnosperms have a well-differentiated plant body
and vascular tissues.
They bear naked seeds, i.e. seeds are not enclosed
within a fruit. Some of the common examples of
gymnosperms are Cycas, Pinus, Ephedra, etc.

Cycadales

Angiosperms
• Class Ginkgoales
• Vascular plants that possess special characteristics
such as flowers and fruits
• seed-bearing vascular plants with a well-differentiated
plant body.
• The seeds of angiosperms are enclosed within the fruits.
• Angiosperms are widely distributed and vary greatly in
size,
• Angiosperms are further divided into monocotyledons
and dicotyledons according to the number of cotyledons
present in the seeds. Some of the common examples are
mango, rose, tomato, onion, wheat, maize, etc.