Plants Classification
Plants Classification
Plants Classification
The plant categories like vascular plants are further categorized into
those that reproduce with and without seeds.
Seed plants are further classified into cones, and those that produce
seeds in flowers vary.
The seed plants are called the gymnosperms, and those that produce
seeds in their flowers’ ovaries are called the angiosperms.
This guide details how the classification of plants takes place. But before
that, why is plant classification important?
The main reason plant classification is done is to ensure that the right
plants are named correctly for ease of identification and grouping.
It helps identify new species
Helps to remember the diversity of plants when they’re better
organized!
Help us identify relationships between different plants and other
organisms
These are plants that complete their entire life cycle in a single season. These
are usually herbaceous, and examples are wheat, rice, pulses, etc.
II. Biennials
These are those plants that complete their entire life cycle in two years. These
are unusually herbaceous, and examples are cabbage, carrot, beetroot, and
onions.
III. Perennials
Perennials are those plants that have a longer lifespan. These usually live for
two or more two years, and these are either woody or herbaceous. Examples
are lavender, dianthus, and lilies.
3. Taxonomy
i. Coniferophyta (Gymnosperms)
A. Monocotyledons
B. Dicotyledons
The Dicotyledonous or the dicot plants are flowering plants, and they
grow as shrubs, herbs, and trees, and the seed contains two cotyledons.
It has a net-like vein pattern, and its leaves radiate outwards from the
main central vein. Examples are eucalyptus and figs.
We can break the plant kingdom down into further divisions! Let’s look at a
few.
1. Thallophyta
This division includes various kinds of microorganisms like fungi and algae.
The algae are further divided into green, brown, and red.
2. Bryophyta
These are plants found in water and land, like amphibians like mosses and
liverworts.
3. Tracheophyta
Otherwise known as vascular plants. These plants contain xylem that mainly
function to conduct water and dissolved minerals, and phloem, which
functions mainly in the conduction of foods (sugar). This class is further
divided into:
A. Pteridophyta
These do not have any flowers or seeds like ferns and club mosses
Ferns possess true roots, stems and leaves, produced by spores
Life cycle and reproduction depends on spores rather than seeds, and
preceded seed-forming reproductive processes
B. Gymnosperm
C. Angiosperm
Also called flowering plants, they have their seeds enclosed and
protected in an ovary
Represent more than 80% of the plants we find today
Seeds (ovules) are well protected in a hollow ovary which is in turn,
often enclosed in a flower
Fruits are then born from the flower of the plant, and in turn contain
seeds for reproduction
Conclusion
The plant's classification makes it easy to study a wide range of plants
It lets one understand the interrelation between different organism
groups
There are various ways in which the plant group classification happens.
The classification can include the plant’s life cycle or whether or not
they produce seeds.
There are several other factors on the basis on which the plant kingdom
can be classified.
FAQs:
The four major groups are mosses, ferns, flowering plants, and
gymnosperms.