?Land plants Fossil range: Latest Ordovician - Recent
Fern Leaf
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: Embryophyta
Divisions
Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - "true" ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns 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. The Ordovician period is the second of the six (seven in North America) periods of the Paleozoic era. ... 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 how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... 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 - flowering... Bryophytes are embryophyte plants (land plants) that are nevertheless non-vascular: they have tissues and enclosed reproductive systems, but they lack vascular tissue that circulates liquids. ... Orders Haplomitriales Sphaerocarpales Marchantiales Metzgeriales Monocleales Jungermanniales Takakiales Liverworts are non-vascular plants, also called hepatics (scientific name Hepaticophyta). ... 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, obese teachers that prance around Athens. ... 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. ... Classes Lycopodiopsida - clubmosses Selaginellopsida - spikemosses Isoetopsida - quillworts The division Lycopodiophyta is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae that includes some of the most primitive of extant (living) vascular plants. ... Classes Equisetopsida The division Equisetophyta is a taxon in the kingdom Plantae containing primitive land plants. ... Classes Marattiopsida Osmundopsida Gleicheniopsida Pteridopsida A fern, or pteridophyte, is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the Division Pteridophyta, formerly known as Filicophyta. ... Species Psilotum nudum (L.) Beauvois - Whisk Fern Psilotum complanatum Sw. ... 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, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Families Cycadaceaecycas family Stangeriaceaestangeria family Zamiaceaezamia family 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 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 (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Divisions Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth. ... Clivia miniata bears bright orange flowers. ... Classes Marattiopsida Osmundopsida Gleicheniopsida Pteridopsida A fern, or pteridophyte, is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the Division Pteridophyta, formerly known as Filicophyta. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Mosses are small, soft, obese teachers that prance around Athens. ... 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 A eukaryote is an organism with a complex cell or cells, in which the genetic material is organized into a membrane-bound nucleus or nuclei. ... The leaf is the primary site of photosynthesis in plants. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas comprised of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... Chlorophyll is a green photosynthetic pigment found in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. ... A seaweed (Laurencia) up close: the branches are multicellular and only about 1 mm thick. ... Terrestrial literally means of the earth and is used in a variety of contexts: In biology and in the general sense, terrestrial means indicates ground-dwelling (compare aquatic). ... Look up aquatic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

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 sensu stricto or chlorophytes, comprises most of what are commonly called green algae and includes most members of the grade of putatively ancestral scaly flagellates in Prasinophyceae plus members of Ulvophyceae, Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyceae, Pedinophyceae, Picocystophyceae, and unclassified Chlorophyta. ... The Paleozoic Era is a major division of the geologic timescale, one of four geologic eras. ... 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. ... // Overview A gametophyte is the haploidor possibly diploid structure or phase of life of a sexually-reproducing plant. ... 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 environment, 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. Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Mosses are small, soft, obese teachers that prance around Athens. ... 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. ... Orders Haplomitriales Sphaerocarpales Marchantiales Metzgeriales Monocleales Jungermanniales Takakiales Liverworts are non-vascular plants, also called hepatics (scientific name Hepaticophyta). ... Spores produced in a sporic life cycle. ... The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 443. ... Disambiguation: Devonian is sometimes used to refer to the Southwestern Brythonic language, and the people of the county of Devon are sometimes referred to as Devonians The Devonian is a geologic period of the Paleozoic era. ... 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. ... The leaves of a Beech tree A leaf with laminar structure and pinnate venation In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... A stem is the above ground axis of a vascular plant. ... 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)
• Equisetophyta (horsetails)
• Psilotophyta (whisk ferns)
• Ophioglossophyta (adders'-tongues and grape-ferns)
• Pteridophyta (ferns)

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: Classes Lycopodiopsida - clubmosses Selaginellopsida - spikemosses Isoetopsida - quillworts The division Lycopodiophyta is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae that includes some of the most primitive of extant (living) vascular plants. ... Families Lycopodiaceae Huperziaceae The Class Lycopodiopsida includes the clubmosses. ... Classes Equisetopsida The division Equisetophyta is a taxon in the kingdom Plantae containing primitive land plants. ... Species The horsetails are vascular plants, comprising 15 species of plants in the genus Equisetum. ... Species Psilotum nudum (L.) Beauvois - Whisk Fern Psilotum complanatum Sw. ... Species Psilotum nudum (L.) Beauvois - Whisk Fern Psilotum complanatum Sw. ... Families and Genera Family Ophioglossaceae Ophioglossum Cheiroglossa Family Botrychiaceae Botrychium Botrypus Sceptridium Family Helminthostachiaceae Helminthostachys zeylanica The Ophioglossophyta are a small group of plants. ... 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. ... The Paleozoic Era is a major division of the geologic timescale, one of four geologic eras. ... Desiccation is the state of extreme dryness, or the process of extreme drying. ... A ripe red jalapeno 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), hollyhock (Sidalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... A human ovum An ovum (from Latin, loosely, egg or egg cell) is a female sex 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. Families Cycadaceaecycas family Stangeriaceaestangeria family Zamiaceaezamia family 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 relatives. ... 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, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... 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 (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Coast Douglas-fir cone This article lacks an appropriate Taxobox You can help Wikipedia by adding one. ... 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 200 Ma (million years ago), at the end of the Triassic to 146 Ma, at the beginning of the Cretaceous. ... The Cretaceous period is one of the major divisions of the geologic timescale, reaching from the end of the Jurassic period, about 146 million years ago (Ma), to the beginning of the Paleocene epoch of the Tertiary period (65. ... Terrestrial literally means of the earth and is used in a variety of contexts: In biology and in the general sense, terrestrial means indicates ground-dwelling (compare aquatic). ... In ecology, a biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant, and animal communities best adapted to the regions physical natural environment, latitude, altitude and terrain factors. ...

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 Streptohyta. Classification may refer to: Taxonomic classification See also class (philosophy) Statistical classification Security classification Hint: Language use may refer to a taxonomic classification that is used for statistical purposes also as a statistical classification (like International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems). ... 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 - flowering... Phylum (plural: phyla) is a taxon used in the classification of life, adopted from the Greek phylai the clan-based voting groups in Greek city-states. ...

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 A eukaryote is an organism with a complex cell or cells, in which the genetic material is organized into a membrane-bound nucleus or nuclei. ... A cell wall is a more or less solid layer surrounding a cell. ... Cellulose as polymer of β-D-glucose Cellulose in 3D Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a long-chain polymeric polysaccharide carbohydrate, of beta-glucose. ... Plastids are major organelles found only in plants and algae. ... The inside of a chloroplast Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and eukaryotic algae that conduct photosynthesis. ... Starch is a complex carbohydrate which is insoluble in water, it is used by plants as a way to store excess glucose. ... Chlorophyll is a green photosynthetic pigment found in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. ... 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 whip-like organelle that many unicellular organisms, and some multicellular ones, use to move about. ... A centriole in biology is a barrel shaped microtubule structure found in most animal cells, and cells of fungi and algae though not frequently in plants. ... Gametes, from the ancient Greek γαμετης (spouse), are the specialized germ cells that come together 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.
• 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.