h of Earth's surface is covere
Figure 1 (a) From forests to ~leg~i'i1
'igure 2 These Arctic poppies are
1und in Arctic and High Arctic climates,
eluding Baffin Island.
uophyte the common name for
:1nisms in the order Charophyceae;
~n algae in the kingdom Protista
ARNING TIP
(c) Plants and plant products products we use and the
d
d
Although we are sur rou nd e an d su pp ort ed by ec os ys tem s or
h Bu t as yo u are ab ou t to
most people know very l'tt
i
le ab ou t t em .
'bl d
than 270 000 known specie• pla nts are fas cin ati ng an d inc red 1 y
s, . h . · 1
pla h 100 m int
nts tower more t ~n o t e air, an d the sm all est are l1t t,
limetre across. Todays olddest i~1ngt
r . tree ha
s a ro ot sy ste m tha t is °'
. • • intro uct1on o the ch ara cte ris tic s an d div ers i
This sect10n gives an
as an overview of how the y ad ap te d r£ lan d Th e Pla nts un
to 1 e on .'
detailed study of plant anatomy, gro
wt h, an d fun cti on .
Why Plants Are Im po rt an t
Plants can survive in many different
climatic co nd itio ns , fro m ho t ar
parched deserts and the extreme co
ld of the Hi gh Ar cti c (Figure 2).
producers of food, other terrestrial
life for ms follow wh ere ve r pla nts
diversity of terrestrial ecosystems 1
de pe nd s he av ily on the div ers
plants to supply food thr ou gh photo ity
synthesis, the re wo uld be litt le
In addition to supporting food we lif
bs, pla nts als o pr ov ide ot h
places to live, such as nesting loc
ations for bir ds an d su pp or ts
:Iuma~s are particularly de pe nd en
t on pla nts for a wi de ran ge of ,
mcludmg medicines, clothing, wo od
, an d pa pe r pr od uc ts.
?nf~rtunately, many of the world
's pla nts are thr ea ten ed VI
extmcti~n. Habitat destruction, inv
asive species, po llu tio n, an d
pooste s~~1ous ~hreats to plants an d
n ar10s native pla nt spe · the org an ism s th at de pe nd on
.
exfirpate d-n o longer livc1e s are 1isted as ,,sp ec
ing a h . ies at ris k" Of th
ny w ere in the pro vin ce .. es
Classification an d Ph yl og en
y
Plants are thought to have evolve
belong to the ldnlT..-1 d fron-.. ft,. -
-- -