Land plants Fossil range: Latest Ordovician - Recent
Fern Leaf
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota (unranked) Archaeplastida Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: Embryophyta
Divisions
Non-vascular land plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses †Horneophytopsida Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta - ferns and horsetails Ophioglossophyta - adders'-tongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants

The embryophytes are the most familiar group of plants. They include trees, flowers, ferns, mosses, and various other green land plants. All are complex multicellular eukaryotes with specialized reproductive organs. With very few exceptions, embryophytes obtain their energy through photosynthesis (that is, by absorbing light); and they synthesize their food from carbon dioxide. Embryophyta may be distinguished from chlorophyll-using multicellular algae by having sterile tissue within the reproductive organs. Furthermore, embryophytes are primarily adapted for life on land, although some are secondarily aquatic. Accordingly, they are often called land plants or terrestrial plants. Artist impression of the Ordovician Sea. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1600x880, 248 KB) Ferns (Blechnum nudum) in Nunniong, Australia File links The following pages link to this file: Plant Fern Embryophyte Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Tree of Life User talk:Tannin User:Fir0002/Fir0002 gallery Wikipedia:Reference desk archive/July 2005 ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Kingdoms Eukaryotes are organisms with complex cells, in which the genetic material is organized into membrane-bound nuclei. ... The Archaeplastida are a major line of eukaryotes, comprising the land plants, green and red algae, and a small group called the glaucophytes. ... Divisions Green algae land plants (embryophytes) non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes) seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongue ferns seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta... The bryophytes are those embryophyte plants (land plants) that are non-vascular: they have tissues and enclosed reproductive systems, but they lack vascular tissue that circulates liquids. ... Orders Jungermanniopsida Metzgeriales (simple thalloids) Haplomitriales (Calobryales) Jungermanniales (leafy liverworts) Marchantiopsida Sphaerocarpales (bottle liverworts) Marchantiales (complex thalloids) Monocleales Liverworts are a division of plants commonly called hepatics, Marchantiophyta or liverworts. ... Families & Genera Anthocerotaceae Anthoceros Folioceros Leiosporoceros Phaeoceros Sphaerosporoceros Dendrocerotaceae Dendroceros Megaceros Notoceros Notothyladaceae Notothylas Hornworts are a group of bryophytes, or non-vascular plants, comprising the division Anthocerotophyta. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. ... Divisions Non-seed-bearing plants Equisetophyta Lycopodiophyta Psilotophyta Pteridophyta Superdivision Spermatophyta Pinophyta Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta The vascular plants are plants in the Kingdom Plantae (also called Viridiplantae) that have specialized tissues for conducting water. ... Rhyniophyta were among the first modern-style land plants, which seem to have been fully vacular (they used tubes to carry nutrients through their stems), and may have been direct descendants of cooksonia, the very first land plants thought to start to develop a vascular system. ... Classes Lycopodiopsida - clubmosses Selaginellopsida - spikemosses Isoetopsida - quillworts The Division Lycopodiophyta (sometimes called Lycophyta) is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae. ... Classes Psilotopsida Equisetopsida Marattiopsida Pteridopsida (Polypodiopsida) this dnt make sense A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta. ... Families and Genera Family Ophioglossaceae Ophioglossum Cheiroglossa Family Botrychiaceae Botrychium Botrypus Sceptridium Family Helminthostachiaceae Helminthostachys zeylanica The Ophioglossophyta are a small group of plants. ... The spermatophytes comprise those plants that produce seeds. ... Pteridospermatophyta, also called seed ferns, is an extinct gymnosperm division of the Plantae kingdom. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the... Families Cycadaceae cycas family Stangeriaceae stangeria family Zamiaceae zamia family Leaves and male cone of Cycas revoluta Cycads are an ancient group of seed plants characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. ... Binomial name Ginkgo biloba L. The Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), frequently misspelled as Gingko, and sometimes known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique tree with no close living relatives. ... taxa: Gnetales Welwitschiales Ephedrales The plant division Gnetophyta or gnetophytes comprise three related families of woody plants grouped in the gymnosperms, a paraphyletic group of seed plant divisions. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular land plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses †Horneophytopsida Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails Ophioglossophyta - adders-tongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... Look up flower in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. ... Multicellular organisms are those organisms containing more than one cell, and having differentiated cells that perform specialized functions. ... Kingdoms Animalia - Animals Fungi Plantae - Plants Protista Alternative phylogeny Unikonta Opisthokonta Amoebozoa Bikonta Apusozoa Cabozoa Rhizaria Excavata Corticata Archaeplastida Chromalveolata Animals, plants, fungi, and protists are eukaryotes (IPA: ), organisms whose cells are organized into complex structures by internal membranes and a cytoskeleton. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... In order to meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article requires cleanup. ... Chlorophyll gives leaves their green color Space-filling model of the chlorophyll molecule Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. ... A seaweed (Laurencia) up close: the branches are multicellular and only about 1 mm thick. ... Nymphaea alba, a species of water lily. ...

Embryophytes developed from complex green algae (Chlorophyta) during the Paleozoic era. The Charales or stoneworts appear to be the best living illustration of that developmental step. These alga-like plants undergo an alternation between haploid and diploid generations (respectively called gametophytes and sporophytes). In the first embryophytes, however, the sporophytes became very different in structure and function, remaining small and dependent on the parent for their entire brief life. Such plants are informally called 'bryophytes'. They include three surviving groups: Divisions Chlorophyta Charophyta Streptophytina (Subdivision) The green algae are the large group of algae from which the embryophytes (higher plants) emerged. ... Classes Chlorophyceae Ulvophyceae Trebouxiophyceae Prasinophyceae The Chlorophyta, or green algae, include about 8000 species[1] of mostly aquatic photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. ... The Paleozoic Era (from the Greek palaio, old and zoion, animals, meaning ancient life) is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ... Genera Chara Lamprothamnium Nitella Tolypella The Charales are an order of green algae, and are believed to be the closest relatives of the embryophyte plants. ... Sporic or diplohaplontic life cycle. ... Haploid (meaning simple in Greek) cells have only one copy of each chromosome. ... Diploid (meaning double in Greek) cells have two copies (homologs) of each chromosome (both sex- and non-sex determining chromosomes), usually one from the mother and one from the father. ... In plants that undergo alternation of generations, a gametophyte is the structure, or phase of life, that contains only half of the total complement of chromosomes: The sporophyte produces spores, in a process called meiosis. ... In plants that undergo alternation of generations, a sporophyte is the structure, or phase of life, that contains a total complement of chromosomes: The sporophyte produces spores, in a process called meiosis. ... Bryophyte is a botanical term which refers to any member of the following divisions of the Plantae kingdom: Bryophyta (mosses) Anthocerophyta (hornworts) Hepatophyta (liverworts) Despite the similarity in name, a bryophyte does not exclusively imply a species of the division bryophyta. ...

• Bryophyta (mosses)
• Anthocerotophyta (hornworts)
• Marchantiophyta (liverworts)

All of the above 'bryophytes' are relatively small and are usually confined to moist environments, relying on water to disperse their spores. Other plants, better adapted to terrestrial conditions, appeared during the Silurian period. During the Devonian period, they diversified and spread to many different land environments, becoming the vascular plants or tracheophytes. Tracheophyta have vascular tissues or tracheids, which transport water throughout the body, and an outer layer or cuticle that resists drying out. In most vascular plants, the sporophyte is the dominant individual, and develops true leaves, stems, and roots, while the gametophyte remains very small. Families & Genera Anthocerotaceae Anthoceros Folioceros Leiosporoceros Phaeoceros Sphaerosporoceros Dendrocerotaceae Dendroceros Megaceros Notoceros Notothyladaceae Notothylas Hornworts are a group of bryophytes, or non-vascular plants, comprising the division Anthocerotophyta. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 443. ... Artists illustration of a Devonian scene. ... Divisions Non-seed-bearing plants Equisetophyta Lycopodiophyta Psilotophyta Pteridophyta Superdivision Spermatophyta Pinophyta Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta The vascular plants are plants in the Kingdom Plantae (also called Viridiplantae) that have specialized tissues for conducting water. ... Divisions Non-seed-bearing plants Equisetophyta Lycopodiophyta Psilotophyta Pteridophyta Superdivision Spermatophyta Pinophyta Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta The vascular plants are plants in the kingdom Plantae (also called Viridiplantae) that have specialized tissues for conducting water. ... Tracheids are elongated cells in the xylem of vascular plants, serving in the transport of water. ... Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. ... “Foliage” redirects here. ... Stem showing internode and nodes plus leaf petiole and new stem rising from node. ... ROOT is an object-oriented software package developed by CERN. It was originally designed for particle physics data analysis and contains several features specific to this field, but it is also commonly used in other applications such as astronomy and data mining. ...

Many vascular plants, however, still reproduce using spores. They include the following extant groups:

• Lycopodiophyta (clubmosses)
• Ophioglossophyta (adders'-tongues and grape-ferns)
• Pteridophyta (ferns, whisk ferns, and horsetails)

Other groups, which first appeared towards the end of the Paleozoic era, reproduce using desiccation-resistant capsules called seeds. These groups are accordingly called spermatophytes or seed plants. In these forms, the gametophyte is completely reduced, taking the form of single-celled pollen and ova, while the sporophyte begins its life enclosed within the seed. Some seed plants may even survive in extremely arid conditions, unlike their more water-bound precursors. The seed plants include the following extant groups: Families Lycopodiaceae Huperziaceae The Class Lycopodiopsida includes the clubmosses. ... Species Ophioglossum azoricum Ophioglossum engelmanii Ophioglossum lusitanicum Ophioglossum pycnosticum Ophioglossum vulgatum Adders-tongues are plants of the genus Ophioglossum, which means snake-tongue. Ophioglossum is in the family Ophioglossaceae, in the order Ophioglossales, a small group of vascular plants. ... Species Botrypus virginianum Grape-ferns are seedless vascular plants of the genus Botrypus, closely allied to (and previously often included in) the genus Botrychium (moonworts). ... Classes Marattiopsida Osmundopsida Gleicheniopsida Pteridopsida A fern, or pteridophyte, is any one of a group of some twenty thousand species of plants classified in the Division Pteridophyta, formerly known as Filicophyta. ... Species The horsetails are vascular plants, comprising 15 species of plants in the genus Equisetum. ... Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. ... A ripe red jalapeño cut open to show the seeds For other uses, see Seed (disambiguation). ... The spermatophytes (also known as phanerogams) comprise those plants that produce seeds. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomoea purpurea), prairie hollyhock (Sidalcea malviflora), oriental lily (Lilium auratum), evening primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... A human ovum Sperm cells attempting to fertilize an ovum An ovum (plural ova) is a haploid female reproductive cell or gamete. ...

• Cycadophyta (Cycads)
• Ginkgophyta (Ginkgo)
• Pinophyta (Conifers)
• Gnetophyta (Gnetae)
• Magnoliophyta (Flowering plants)

The first four groups are referred to as gymnosperms, since the embryonic sporophyte is not enclosed until after pollination. In contrast, among the flowering plants or angiosperms, the pollen has to grow a tube to penetrate the seed coat. Angiosperms were the last major group of plants to appear, developing from gymnosperms during the Jurassic period, and then spreading rapidly during the Cretaceous. They are the predominant group of plants in most terrestrial biomes today. Divisions Pinophyta (or Coniferophyta) - Conifers Ginkgophyta - Ginkgo Cycadophyta - Cycads Gnetophyta - Gnetum, Ephedra, Welwitschia The gymnosperms (Gymnospermae) are a group of spermatophyte seed-bearing plants with ovules on the edge or blade of an open sporophyll, the sporophylls usually arranged in cone-like structures. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... The Jurassic Period is a major unit of the geologic timescale that extends from about 199. ... The Cretaceous Period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic Period (i. ... A terrestrial plant is one that grows on land. ... A biome is a major class of ecologically similar communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, often reffered to as ecosystems. ...

Note that the higher-level classification of plants varies considerably. Some authors have restricted the kingdom Plantae to include only embryophytes, others have given them various names and ranks. The groups listed here are often considered divisions or phyla, but have also been treated as classes, and they are occasionally compressed into as few as two divisions. Some classifications, indeed, consider the term Embryophyta at the superphylum (superdivision) level, and include Land Plants and some Charophyceae in a subkingdom named Streptophyta. Statistical classification is a type of supervised learning problem in which labeled training data is used to create a function that will correctly predict the label of future data. ... In politics, a country (or in some cases, a group of countries) over which a king or queen reigns, is a kingdom, see: monarchy. ... Divisions Green algae land plants (embryophytes) non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses vascular plants (tracheophytes) seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongue ferns seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta... In biological taxonomy, a phylum (Greek plural: phyla) is a taxon in the rank below kingdom and above class. ... Classes Charophyceae Embryophyceae Streptophytina Streptophytina is formally a subdivision or subphylum (but sometimes used at the division level, where more appropriate would be the use of the term Streptophyta, see below) which contains two classes: Charophyceae, containing the Charales order (Charophytes sensu stricto); and Embryophyceae, which contains the embryophytes (land...

On a microscopic level, embryophyte cells remain very similar to those of green algae. They are eukaryotic, with a cell wall composed of cellulose and plastids surrounded by two membranes. These usually take the form of chloroplasts, which conduct photosynthesis and store food in the form of starch, and characteristically are pigmented with chlorophylls a and b, generally giving them a bright green color. Embryophytes also generally have an enlarged central vacuole or tonoplast, which maintains cell turgor and keeps the plant rigid. They lack flagella and centrioles except in certain gametes. Kingdoms Animalia - Animals Fungi Plantae - Plants Protista Alternative phylogeny Unikonta Opisthokonta Amoebozoa Bikonta Apusozoa Cabozoa Rhizaria Excavata Corticata Archaeplastida Chromalveolata Animals, plants, fungi, and protists are eukaryotes (IPA: ), organisms whose cells are organized into complex structures by internal membranes and a cytoskeleton. ... A cell wall is a fairly rigid layer surrounding a cell, located external to the cell membrane, that provides the cell with structural support, protection, and a filtering mechanism. ... Cellulose as polymer of β-D-glucose Cellulose in 3D Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a polysaccharide of beta-glucose. ... Plastids are major organelles found in plants and algae. ... Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and eukaryotic algae that conduct photosynthesis. ... Starch (CAS# 9005-25-8) is a complex carbohydrate which is insoluble in water; it is used by plants as a way to store excess glucose. ... Schematic of typical animal cell, showing subcellular components. ... Turgor (also called turgor pressure or osmotic pressure) is the pressure that can build in a space that is enclosed by a membrane that is permeable to a solvent of a solution such as water but not to the solutes of the soluton. ... // A flagellum (plural: flagella) is a long, slender projection from the cell body, composed of microtubules and surrounded by the plasma membrane. ... A centriole in biology is a barrel shaped microtubule structure found in most animal cells and algae though not frequently in plants. ... A gamete is a specialized germ cell that fuses with another gamete during fertilization (conception) in organisms that reproduce sexually. ...

References

• Kenrick, Paul & Crane, Peter R. (1997). The Origin and Early Diversification of Land Plants: A Cladistic Study. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-56098-730-8.
• Raven, Peter H., Evert, Ray F., & Eichhorn, Susan E. (2005). Biology of Plants (7th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-1007-2.
• Smith, Alan R., Kathleen M. Pryer, E. Schuettpelz, P. Korall, H. Schneider, & Paul G. Wolf. (2006). "A classification for extant ferns". Taxon 55(3): 705-731.
• Stewart, Wilson N. & Rothwell, Gar W. (1993). Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-38294-7.
• Taylor, Thomas N. & Taylor, Edith L. (1993). The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-651589-4.