 Plant kingdom is classified into five

major groups:
 Algae
 Bryophytes
 Pteridophytes
 Gymnosperms
 Angiosperms
 ARTIFICIAL CLASSIFICATION:
Based on vegetative characters or on
the Androecium structure. This system
was given by Linnaeus. It is not
accepted as we know that often the
vegetative characters are more easily
affected by environment.
 NATURAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM:
Based on natural affinities among the
organisms. It not only considers external
features but also internal features like
ultra structure, anatomy, embryology and
phytochemistry. For flowering plant this
type of classification is given by George
Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker.
 PHYLOGENETIC CLASSIFICATION
SYSTEM:
Based on evolutionary relationships
between various organisms. This is
acceptable. This indicates that
organisms belonging to the same taxa
have a common ancestor.
 NUMERICAL TAXONOMY:
It is now easily carried out using
computers and is based on all
observable characteristics. Number and
codes are assigned to all the characters
and the data are then processed. Every
character is given equal importance and
a time hundred of characters can be
considered.
 CYTOTAXONOMY:

Based on cytological information like

chromosome number, structure,
behaviour.

 CHEMOTAXONOMY:

Based on chemical constitutions of the

plant to resolve confusions. Now a day it
is also used by taxonomists.
 ALGAE:
 Chlorophyll bearing simple, thalloid,
autotrophic and largely aquatic (both fresh
water and marine) organisms.
 Wide range of habitats : moist stones, soil
and wood, in association with fungi (lichen)
and animals (on sloth bear)
 Form and size is highly variable.
 Size ranges from microscopic unicellular
(chlamydomonas) to conical forms like
volvox.
 Algae may be filamentous (Ulothrix,
Spirogyra).
 May be branched, plant like (Kelp).
 Reproduces by vegetative, asexual and
sexual methods.
 Vegetative reproduction by fragmentation,
asexual reproduction by production of
spores (zoospores). Zoospores are
flagellated and on germination give rise to
new plants.
 Sexual reproduction by fusion of two
gametes. These gametes can be flagellated
and dissimilar in size (chlamydomonas) or
non-flagellated but similar in size
(spirogyra).
 The reproduction in which there is fusion of
similar gametes is called isogamous and
the reproduction in which there is fusion of
two dissimilar gametes is called
angiosperms. Fusion between one large
non-motile female gamete and a small
motile male gamete is called oogamous
(Volvox, Fucus).

 USES OF ALGAE:
 At least a half of the total CO fixation on
2
each is carried out by algae through
photosynthesis.
 Helpful in increasing the level of O .
2
 Algae are Primary producers.
 Porphyra, Laminaria, Sargassum used as food
 Water holding substances, algin is produced
by brown algae.
 Water holding substances carrageen is
produced by red algae.
 Agar-agar is obtained from Gelidium and
Gracilaria which is used for culture of microbes
and preparation of ice-creams and Jellies.
 Chlorella and Spirullina (unicellular algae) used
as food supplements by space travellers as
they are rich in protein. Supplements by space
travellers as they are rich in protein.
 CLASSIFICATION OF ALGAE: Classified
into three main classes: Chlorophyceae,
Phaeophyceae and Rhodophyceae.
 CHLOROPHYCEAE:
 Members are commonly called green algae.
 Plant body may be unicellular, colonial or
filamentous.
 Green due to pigments chlorophyll ‘a’ and
‘b’.
 Pigments are localised in definite
chloroplasts.
 Chloroplasts may be discoid, plate like,
reticulate, cup shaped, spiral or ribbon
shaped.
 Presence of one more storage bodies
called pyrenoids located in chloroplasts.
Pyrenoids contain protein besides starch.
 Some algae also store food in the form of
oil droplets.
 Rigid cell wall, inner layer of cellulose and
an outer layer of pectose.
 Vegetative reproduction by
fragmentation or by formation of
different types of spores.
 Asexual reproduction by zoospores
(flagellated) produced in zoosporangia.
 Sexual reproduction may be isogamous,
anisogamous or oogamous.
 Some green algae are:
Chlamydomonas, Volvox, Ulothrix,
Spirogyra, Chara etc.
CHLAMYDOMONAS
VOLVOX
ULOTHRIX
SPIROGYRA
CHARA
 PHAEOPHYCEAE:
 Members are commonly called brown algae.
 Present primarily in marine habitat.
 Great variation in size and form ranges from
simple branched, filamentous forms
(Ectocarpus) to profusely branched forms
(Kelps).
 Possess chlorophyll a, c, carotenoids and
xanthophylls.
 Colour vary from olive green to various shade
of brown depending upon the xanthophylls
pigment (fucoxanthin)
 Food is stored as complex carbohydrate, may
be in the form of Laminarin or mannitol.
 Vegetative cells have a cellulosic wall
covered on the outside by a gelatinous
coating of algin.
 In addition to plastids, protoplast contains a
centrally located vacuole and nucleus.
 The plant body is differentiated into holdfast
(attached to the substratum), stipe (stalk),
and frond (leaf like photosynthetic organ)
Vegetative reproduction by fragmentation.
 Asexual reproduction mostly by
biflagellate zoospores. Zoospores are
pear shaped with two unequal laterally
attached flagella.
 Sexual reproduction may be isogamous,
anisogamous and oogamous. Union of
gametes takes place in water or in
oogonium. The gametes are pear
shaped with two laterally attached
flagella. Common brown algae are:
Ectocarpus, Fucus, Dictyota,
Sargassum, Laminaria etc.
ECTOCARPUS
FUCUS
 RHODOPHYCEAE:
 Members are commonly called red algae.
 Presence of red- pigment, r-phycoerythrin.
 Majority of red algae are marine with
greater concentrations in the warmer area.
 May be present at the regions close to the
surface of water or at a great depth in
oceans.
 Mostly multicellular, some of them have
complex body organisation.
 Reserve food material is in the form of
floridean starch that is very similar to
amylopectin and glycogen in structure.
 Vegetative reproduction by
fragmentation.
 Asexual reproduction by non- motile
spores.
 Sexual reproduction by non-motile
gametes. Sexual reproduction is
oogamous and accompanied by complex
post fertilisation developments.
 Common red algae are: Polysiphonia,
Porphyra, Gracilaria, Gelidium.
POLYSIPHONIA
GELIDIUM
 BRYOPHYTES:
 It includes liverworts and mosses.
 Present commonly in moist shaded areas.
 Bryophytes are called amphibians (can
live in soil but are dependent on water for
sexual reproduction)
 Usually occur in damp, humid or bare
rocks/soil.
 Plant body is thallus like and prostrate or
erect and is attached to the substratum by
unicellular or multicellular rhizoids.
 Absence of true roots, stem or leaves.
 The main plant body is haploid and it
produces gametes hence called
gametophyte.
 Sex organs are multicellular.
 The male sex organs are antheridium that
produces biflagellate antherozoids.
 The female sex organ is archegonium
(flask shaped) that produces a single egg.
 The antherozoids are released into water
and fuses with egg to form zygote. Zygote
forms multicellular body called
sporophyte.
 The sporophyte do not detached from the
gametophyte and derive nutrition from it.
 Some cells of sporophyte undergo
meiosis to form haploid spores. Spores
further germinate to form gametophyte.
 ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF
BRYOPHYTE:
 Provide food for herbaceous mammals,
birds and other animals.
 Species of Sphagnum (moss) provide
peat and used as fuel.
 Sphagnum is used as packing material for
trans-shipment of living material due to its
water holding capacity.
 Mosses along with Lichen are of great
ecological importance as they decompose
rocks making it suitable for the growth of
higher plants.
 Mosses prevent soil erosion.
 Used in grafting.
 CLASSIFICATION OF BRYOPHYTES:
Classified into two major groups:
Liverworts and Mosses.
 LIVERWORTS:

 Grow in moist shady habitats such as

banks of streams, marshy ground, damp
soil, bark of trees, deep in the woods.
 Plant body is thalloid.

 The thallus is dorsiventrally flattened.

 The leaf members have tiny leaf-like

appendages in two rows on the stem like
structures.
 Asexual reproduction by fragmentation of
thalli or by formation of special structure
called gemmae (gemma).
 Gemmae are green, multicellular, asexual
buds that develop in small receptacles
called gemma cups located on the thalli.
 Gemmae detached from the parent body
and germinate new individuals.
 Male and female sex organs are
produced either on the same or on
different thalli.
 The sporophyte is differentiated into foot,
seta and capsule.
 Spores are formed within the capsule by
meiosis, and spores germinate to form
gametophyte.
 Common liverworts are Marchantia,
Riccia etc.
RICCIA
 MOSSES:
 Most prominent stage of life cycle is
gametophyte.
 The first stage of gametophyte is
Protonema stage that directly develops
from a spore. Protonema is a creeping,
green, branched and filamentous stage.
 The second stage is the leaf stage that
develops from the secondary Protonema
as a lateral bud. It consists of upright
slender axes bearing spirally arranged
leaves. They are attached to the soil
through multicellular and branched
rhizoids.
 Leaf stage bears the sex organs.
 Vegetative reproductive is by fragmentation
and budding in secondary Protonema.
 Sexual reproduction takes place by formation
and antheridia and archegonia at the apex of
the leafy shoots.
 Antheridia forms antherozoids and archegonia
forms an egg.
 Fusion of antherozoid and egg forms zygote
that develops into a sporophyte, consisting of
foot, seta and capsule.
 Capsule contains spores that are formed after
meiosis.
 Common mosses are Funaria, Polytrichum,
and Sphagnum etc.
FUNARIA
POLYTRICHUM
 PTERIDOPHYTES:
 It includes horsetails and ferns.
 Frequently grown as ornamentals.
 First terrestrial plant to posses vascular
tissues (xylem and phloem)
 Found in cool, damp, shady places.
 Some may flourish well in sandy-soil
condition.
 The main plant body is a sporophyte that is
differentiated into root, stem and leaves.
 The leaves may be small (microphylls -
Selaginella) or large (megaphylls – in ferns)
 The sporophytes bear sporangia that are
subtended by leaf like appendages called
sporophylls.
 In some cases sporophylls forms compact
structure called strobili or cones (Selaginella,
Equisetum)
 The sporangia produce spores by meiosis that
germinates to form small, multicellular,
photosynthetic gametophyte called prothallus.
 Prothallus requires cool, damp, shady places
to grow.
 Prothallus (gametophyte) bear male and
female sex organs called antheridia and
archegonia.
 Antheridia forms antherozoids – the male
gametes and archegonia forms an egg.
 Fusion of antherozoid and an egg forms
zygote which further forms multicellular well
differentiated sporophyte.
 In majority of the Pteridophytes all the
spores are similar (homosporous).
 Selaginella and Salvinia produces two
kinds of spores, mega (macro) and micro
(heterosporous). The mega spore
germinates to form female and microspore
germinates to form male gametophyte.
 The female gametophytes in these plants
are retained on the parent sporophyte for
variable periods. Here the zygotes
development takes place. This event is a
precursor to seed habit, an important step
in evolution.
 CLASSIFICATION OF PTERIDOPHYTES:
 Psilopsida (Psilotum)
 Lycopsida (Selaginella, Lycopodium)
 Spenopsida (Equisetum)
 Pteropsida (Dryopteris, Pteris, Adiantum)

 
 USES OF PTERIDOPHYTES:
 Used for medicinal purposes.
 As soil binders.
 Uses as ornamental plants.
DRYOPTERIS
PTERIS
ADIANTUM
SALVINIA
 GYMNOSPERMS:
 These are plants in which ovules are
not enclosed by any ovary wall and
remain exposed. They are called plants
with naked seeds.
 It includes medium- sized trees or tall
trees and shrubs.
 Sequoia (red wood tree) is one of the
tallest tree species.
 The roots are generally tap roots.
 The roots in some genera have fungal
association (Mycorrhiza), while in some
others have coralloid roots (Cycas)
associated with nitrogen fixing
cyanobacteria.
 The stems are unbranched (Cycas) or
branched (Pinus, Cedrus).
 The leaves may be simple or compound
and well adapted to withstand extremes
of temperatures, humidity and wind.
 In conifers, the needle like leaves reduce
the surface area. Their thick cuticle and
sunken stomata also helps to reduce
water loss.
 Gymnosperms are heterosporous
(microspores and megaspores).
 Spores are produced within sporangia
that are borne on sporophylls which are
arranged spirally along an axis to form
Lax or Strobili or cones. (Male strobili and
female strobili).
 The male strobili bear microsporangia that
form microspores called pollen grains.
 The female strobili bear megasporangia that
form megaspores or ovules.
 The female and male cone/ strobili may be
borne on the same tree (Pinus) or on
different (Cycas).
 The ovules are borne on megasporophylls
which may be clustered to form the female
cones. The megaspore mother cell divides
meiotically to form four megaspores.
 One of the megaspores enclosed within the
megasporangium develops into a multicellular
female gametophyte that bears two or more
archegonia. The multicellular female gametophyte
is also retained within the megasporangium.
 The pollen grains released from microsporangium
are carried by air and come in contact with the
opening of the ovules.
 It forms pollen tube which carries male gametes
and grows towards archegonia. Here fertilisation
takes place that develops into zygote.
 Zygote forms an embryo and the ovules into
seeds.
CYCAS
PINUS
GINKGO
 ANGIOSPERMS:
 It is called flowering plant.
 The pollen grains and ovules are
developed in specialised structure called
flowers.
 The seeds are enclosed by fruits.
 It consists of large groups of plants
having wide range of habitat.
 Size ranges from tiny, almost
microscopic Wolfia to tall tree
(Eucalyptus-100m).
 Angiosperms provide us food, fodder, fuel,
medicines etc.
 The male sex organs in a flower is the stamen,
that consist of a slender filament with an anther
at the tip. Anther forms pollen grains by meiosis.
 The female sex organs in a flower are the carpel
or pistil. Pistil consists of an ovary enclosing one
to many ovules. Female gametophyte i.e. embryo
sac is present within the ovule. Each cell of an
embryo sac is haploid. Each embryo sac has a
three celled egg apparatus: one egg cell and two
synergids, three antipodal cells and two polar
nuclei. The polar nuclei fuse to form a diploid
secondary nucleus.
 Pollen grains after dispersal from the anther
are carried by wind or other agents to stigma
of a pistil (pollination).
 Pollen grains germinate on the stigma and
form pollen tubes that grow and reach the
ovule through style. The pollen tubes enter
the embryo sac where two male gametes are
discharged. One of the male gamete fuses
with the egg cell to form zygote (syngamy)
and fuses with the diploid secondary nucleus
to form the triploid primary endosperm
nucleus (PEN). Due to twice fusion it is called
double fertilisation.
 The zygote develops into an embryo and
PEN develops into endosperm which
provides nourishment to the developing
embryo.
 The synergids and antipodal cells
degenerate after fertilisation.
 Further ovules develop into seeds and
the ovaries develop into fruit.
 PLANT LIFE CYCLES AND ALTERATION OF
GENERATIONS: In plants both haploid and diploid
cells divide by mitosis to form both haploid and
diploid plants. The haploid plant body produces
gametes by mitosis. This plant body represents a
gametophyte. After fertilisation zygote also divides
by mitosis to produce a diploid sporophytic plant
body. Haploid spores are produced by this plant
body by meiosis. This in turn divides by mitosis to
form a haploid plant body. Thus, in any sexually
reproducing plant, during the life cycle there is
alteration of generations between gamete
producing haploid gametophyte and spore
producing diploid sporophyte.
Life cycle of an angiosperm
 HAPLONTIC LIFE CYCLE:
Sporophytic generation is represented
only by the one-celled zygote. Meiosis in
zygote forms haploid spores. The
haploid spores divide mitotically to form
gametophyte, haploid plant. The
dominant photosynthetic phase in such
plant is gametophyte. This type of life
cycle is called Haplontic. E.g. Spirogyra,
Volvox, Chlamydomonas etc.
 
 DIPLONTIC LIFE CYCLE:
In this case diploid sporophyte is the
dominant, photosynthetic, independent
phase of plant. The gametophytic phase
is represented by the single to few celled
haploid gametophyte. E.g. all seed
bearing plants i.e. gymnosperm and
angiosperm.
 HAPLO-DIPLONTIC LIFE CYCLE:
Both gametophytic and sporophytic
phases are multicellular. A dominant,
independent, photosynthetic, thalloid
or erect phase is represented by a
haploid gametophyte and it alternates
with the short lived multicellular
sporophyte totally or partially
dependent on the gametophyte for its
anchorage and nutrition.
 E.g. Bryophyte. The diploid sporophyte is
represented by a dominant independent
photosynthetic vascular plant body. It
alternates with multicellular
saprophytic/autotrophic independent but
short lived haploid gametophyte. E.g.
Pteridophytes.
 Ectocarpus, Polysiphonia, Kelps are
haplo-diplontic
 Fucus- diplontic
THANKS