NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Plant kingdom

Plants are a major group of living things (about 300,000 species), including familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, and ferns. Aristotle divided all living things between plants, which generally do not move or have sensory organs, and animals. In Linnaeus' system, these became the Kingdoms Vegetabilia (later Plantae) and Animalia. Since then, it has become clear that the Plantae as originally defined included several unrelated groups, and the fungi and several groups of algae were removed to new kingdoms. However, these are still often considered plants in many contexts. Indeed, any attempt to match "plant" with a single taxon is doomed to fail, because plant is a vaguely defined concept unrelated to the presumed phylogenic concepts on which modern taxonomy is based. 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. ... Kingdoms Animalia - Animals Fungi Plantae - Plants Protista A eukaryote (also spelled eucaryote) is an organism with complex cells, in which the genetic material is organized into membrane-bound nuclei. ... This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Divisions Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Hepaticophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) â€ Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants The embryophytes are the most familiar group... 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). ... Hornworts (or horned liverworts) are a group of non-vascular plants comprising the class Anthocerotae. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Moss gametophyte generation plants with a single sporophyte. ... Divisions Non-seed-bearing plants Equisetophyta Lycopodiophyta Psilotophyta Pteridophyta Superdivision Spermatophyta Pinophyta Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta The vascular plants are a plant group including the ferns, clubmosses, horsetails, flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms. ... 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 some twenty thousand 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 â€ 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 â€ Voltziales â€ The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Families Cycadaceae cycas family Stangeriaceae stangeria family Zamiaceae zamia 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), sometimes also 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 (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... Adiantum pedatum, five-finger fern, Hawk Woods, Athens, Ohio File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Adiantum pedatum, five-finger fern, Hawk Woods, Athens, Ohio File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 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. ... In biology, a species is the basic unit of biodiversity. ... In biology and ecology, an organism (in Greek organon = instrument) is a complex adaptive system of organs that influence each other in such a way that they function as a more or less stable whole and have properties of life. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... Clivia miniata bears bright orange flowers. ... A herb (pronounced hurb in Commonwealth English and urb in American English) is a plant grown for culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual value. ... 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. ... Aristotle, marble copy of bronze by Lysippos. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as â–¶ (helpÂ· info), and in English usually under the Latinized name Carolus Linnaeus (May 23, 1707 â€“ January 10, 1778), the name with which his publications were signed, was a Swedish botanist and physician who laid the foundations for the modern scheme... In biology, a kingdom or regnum is the top-level, or nearly all the top-level, taxon of organisms in scientific classification. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anenomes) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Deuteromycota Zygomycota Glomeromycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota Fungus growing on a tree in Borneo A fungus (plural fungi) is a eukaryotic organism that digests its food externally and absorbs the nutrient molecules into its cells. ... The algae (singular is alga) comprise several different groups of living things that produce energy through photosynthesis. ... Taxonomy (from Greek verb tassein = to classify and nomos = law, science, cf economy) may refer to: the science of classification (see alpha taxonomy) a classification Initially taxonomy was only the science of classifying living organisms, but later the word was applied in a wider sense, and may also refer to...

Embryophytes

Most familiar are the multicellular land plants, called embryophytes. They include the vascular plants, plants with full systems of leaves, stems, and roots. They also include a few of their close relatives, often called bryophytes, of which mosses and liverworts are the most common. Divisions Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Hepaticophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) â€ Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants The embryophytes are the most familiar group... Multicellular organisms are those organisms containing more than one cell, and having differentiated cells that perform specialized functions. ... Divisions Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Hepaticophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) â€ Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants The embryophytes are the most familiar group... Divisions Non-seed-bearing plants Equisetophyta Lycopodiophyta Psilotophyta Pteridophyta Superdivision Spermatophyta Pinophyta Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta The vascular plants are a plant group including the ferns, clubmosses, horsetails, flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms. ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... In common parlance, a stem is any elongated, usually narrow, extension or supporting structure of an object. ... Primary and secondary roots in a cotton plant In vascular plants, the root is that organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil (compare with stem). ... 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. ... Subclasses Sphagnidae Andreaeidae Tetraphidae Polytrichidae Archidiidae Buxbaumiidae Bryidae Moss gametophyte generation plants with a single sporophyte. ... Orders Haplomitriales Sphaerocarpales Marchantiales Metzgeriales Monocleales Jungermanniales Takakiales Liverworts are non-vascular plants, also called hepatics (scientific name Hepaticophyta). ...

All of these plants have eukaryotic cells with cell walls composed of cellulose, and most obtain their energy through photosynthesis, using light and carbon dioxide to synthesize food. About three hundred plant species do not photosynthesize but are parasites on other species of photosynthetic plants. Plants are distinguished from green algae, from which they evolved, by having specialized reproductive organs protected by non-reproductive tissues. Kingdoms Animalia - Animals Fungi Plantae - Plants Protista A eukaryote (also spelled eucaryote) is an organism with complex cells, in which the genetic material is organized into membrane-bound nuclei. ... A cell wall is a more or less solid layer surrounding a cell. ... Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a long-chain polymer polysaccharide carbohydrate, of beta-glucose. ... Leaf. ... Prism splitting light Light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength that is visible to the eye (visible light) or, in a technical or scientific context, electromagnetic radiation of any wavelength. ... Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas comprised of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... For the rare minieral, see Parisite. ... Divisions Chlorophyta Charophyta Streptophytina (Subdivision) The green algae are the large group of algae from which the embryophytes (higher plants) emerged. ...

Bryophytes first appeared during the early Palaeozoic. They can only survive where moisture is available for significant periods, although some species are desiccation tolerant. Most species of bryophyte remain small throughout their life-cycle. This involves an alternation between two generations: a haploid stage, called the gametophyte, and a diploid stage, called the sporophyte. The sporophyte is short-lived and remains dependent on its parent gametophyte. The Palaeozoic is a major division of the geologic timescale, one of four geologic eras. ... Haploid (meaning simple in Greek) cells have only one copy of each chromosome. ... A gametophyte is the haploid structure or phase of life of a sexually reproducing plant. ... 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. ... A sporophyte is the diploid structure or phase of life of a sexually reproducing plant. ...

Vascular plants first appeared during the Silurian period, and by the Devonian had diversified and spread into many different land environments. They have a number of adaptations that allowed them to overcome the limitations of the bryophytes. These include a cuticle resistant to desiccation, and vascular tissues which transport water throughout the organism. In most the sporophyte acts as a separate individual, while the gametophyte remains small. The Silurian is a major division of the geologic timescale that extends from the end of the Ordovician period, about 443. ... Disambiguation: Devonian is also an adjective relating to the English county of Devon or the people there. ...

The first primitive seed plants, Pteridosperms (seed ferns) and Cordaites, both groups now extinct, appeared in the late Devonian and diversified through the Carboniferous, with further evolution through the Permian and Triassic periods. In these the gametophyte stage is completely reduced, and the sporophyte begins life inside an enclosure called a seed, which develops while on the parent plant, and with fertilisation by means of pollen grains. Whereas other vascular plants, such as ferns, reproduce by means of spores and so need moisture to develop, some seed plants can survive and reproduce in extremely arid conditions. Phylogeny of the Spermatophyta - diagram by User:MPF File links The following pages link to this file: Plant Spermatophyte ... Phylogeny of the Spermatophyta - diagram by User:MPF File links The following pages link to this file: Plant Spermatophyte ... Paraphyletic - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... 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. ... Families Lycopodiaceae Huperziaceae The Class Lycopodiopsida includes the clubmosses. ... The Permian is a geologic period that extends from about 299. ... The Triassic is a geologic period that extends from about 245 to 202 Ma (million years ago). ... SEED is a block cipher developed by the Korean Information Security Agency. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomea purpurea), hollyhock (Sildalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ...

Early seed plants are referred to as gymnosperms (naked seeds), as the seed embryo is not enclosed in a protective structure at pollination, with the pollen landing directly on the embryo. Four surviving groups remain widespread now, particularly the conifers, which are dominant trees in several biomes. The angiosperms, comprising the flowering plants, were the last major group of plants to appear, emerging from within the gymnosperms during the Jurassic and diversifying rapidly during the Cretaceous. These differ in that the seed embryo is enclosed, so the pollen has to grow a tube to penetrate the protective seed coat; they are the predominant group of flora in most biomes today. 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. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... In ecology, a biome is a major regional group of distinctive plant and animal communities best adapted to the regions physical environment. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also called angiosperms) are a major group of land plants. ... 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. ...

Algae and Fungi

The algae comprise several different groups of organisms that produce energy through photosynthesis. However, they are not classified within the kingdom plantae but in the kingdom protista instead. The most conspicuous are the seaweeds, multicellular algae that often closely resemble terrestrial plants, but as stated above are not plants, found among the green, red, and brown algae. These and other algal groups also include various single-celled creatures and forms that are simple collections of cells, without differentiated tissues. Many can move about, and some have even lost their ability to photosynthesize; when first discovered, these were considered as both plants and animals. Now they are considered neither, but protists. The algae (singular is alga) comprise several different groups of living things that produce energy through photosynthesis. ... Seaweed covered rocks in the UK Phycologists consider seaweed to refer any of a large number of marine benthic algae that are multicellular, macrothallic (large-bodied), and thus differentiated from most algae that tend to be microscopic in size (Smith, 1944). ... Divisions Chlorophyta Charophyta Streptophytina (Subdivision) The green algae are the large group of algae from which the embryophytes (higher plants) emerged. ... Classes Florideophyceae Bangiophyceae Cyanidiophyceae The red algae (Rhodophyta) are a large group of mostly multicellular, marine algae, including many notable seaweeds. ... Orders Ascoseirales Chordariales Cutleriales Desmarestiales Dictyosiphonales Dictyotales Ectocarpales Fucales Laminariales (kelps) Scytosiphonales Scytothamnales Sphacelariales Sporochnales Syringodermatales Tilopteridales The brown algae or phaeophytes are a large group of multicellular algae, including many notable seaweeds. ... Biological tissue is a substance made up of cells that perform a similar function. ...

The embryophytes developed from green algae; the two are collectively referred to as the green plants or Viridiplantae. The kingdom Plantae is now usually taken to mean this monophyletic group, as shown above. With a few exceptions among the green algae, all such forms have cell walls containing cellulose and chloroplasts containing chlorophylls a and b, and store food in the form of starch. They undergo closed mitosis without centrioles, and typically have mitochondria with flat cristae. In phylogenetics, a group is monophyletic (Greek: of one stem) if all organisms in that group are known to have developed from a common ancestral form, and all descendants of that form are included in the group. ... Cellulose (C6H10O5)n is a long-chain polymer polysaccharide carbohydrate, of beta-glucose. ... The inside of a chloroplast Chloroplasts are organelles found in plant cells and eukaryotic algae that conduct photosynthesis. ... Chlorophyll is a green photosynthetic pigment found in plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. ... Starch is a complex carbohydrate which is insoluble in water. ... Light micrograph of a newt lung cell in early anaphase of mitosis. ... 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. ... Mitochondria are visible as thread-like structures in the light microscope. ...

The chloroplasts of green plants are surrounded by two membranes, suggesting they originated directly from endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. The same is true of the red algae, and the two groups are generally believed to have a common origin. In contrast, most other algae have chloroplasts with three or four membranes. They are not in general close relatives of the green plants, acquiring chloroplasts separately from ingested or symbiotic green and red algae. Orders The taxonomy of the Cyanobacteria is currently under revision. ... Classes Florideophyceae Bangiophyceae Cyanidiophyceae The red algae (Rhodophyta) are a large group of mostly multicellular, marine algae, including many notable seaweeds. ...

Unlike embryophytes and algae, fungi are not photosynthetic, but are saprophytes: they obtain their food by breaking down and absorbing surrounding materials. Most fungi are formed by microscopic tubes called hyphae, which may or may not be divided into cells but contain eukaryotic nuclei. Fruiting bodies, of which mushrooms are the most familiar, are actually only the reproductive structures of fungi. They are not related to any of the photosynthetic groups, but are close relatives of animals. Therefore, fungus has a kingdom of its own. Divisions Chytridiomycota Deuteromycota Zygomycota Glomeromycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota Fungus growing on a tree in Borneo A fungus (plural fungi) is a eukaryotic organism that digests its food externally and absorbs the nutrient molecules into its cells. ... A saprophyte used to be defined as any organism which obtained its energy from decaying animal or vegetable matter. ... In cell biology, the nucleus (from Latin nucleus or nuculeus, kernel) is found in all eukaryotic cells that contains most of the cells genetic material. ... Basidiocarps (mushrooms) of the fungus Leucocoprinus sp. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anenomes) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Divisions Chytridiomycota Deuteromycota Zygomycota Glomeromycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota Fungus growing on a tree in Borneo A fungus (plural fungi) is a eukaryotic organism that digests its food externally and absorbs the nutrient molecules into its cells. ...

Importance

The photosynthesis and carbon fixation conducted by land plants and algae are the ultimate source of energy and organic material in nearly all habitats. These processes also radically changed the composition of the Earth's atmosphere, which as a result contains a large proportion of oxygen. Animals and most other organisms are aerobic, relying on oxygen; those that do not are confined to relatively few, anaerobic environments. Layers of Atmosphere (NOAA) Earths atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth and retained by the Earths gravity. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series Chalcogens Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... An aerobic organism or aerobe is an organism that has an oxygen based metabolism. ... Anaerobic is a technical word which literally means without air, as opposed to aerobic. ...

Much of human nutrition depends on cereals. Other plants that are eaten include fruits, vegetables, herbs, and spices. Some vascular plants, referred to as trees and shrubs, produce woody stems and are an important source of building material. A number of plants are used decoratively, including a variety of flowers. Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds (actually a fruit called a caryopsis). ... Fruit stall in Barcelona, Catalonia. ... Vegetables in a market Vegetable is a culinary term denoting any part of a plant that is commonly consumed by humans as food, but is not regarded as a culinary grain, fruit, nut, herb, or spice. ... A herb (pronounced hurb in Commonwealth English and urb in American English) is a plant grown for culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual value. ... Screen shot of Spice OPUS, a fork of Berkeley SPICE SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuits Emphasis) is a general purpose analog circuit simulator. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... A broom shrub in flower A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ... A tree trunk as found at the Veluwe, The Netherlands Wood derives from woody plants, notably trees but also shrubs. ... Clivia miniata bears bright orange flowers. ...

Growth

It is a common misconception that most of the solid material in a plant is taken from the soil, when in fact almost all of it is actually taken from the air. Through a process known as photosynthesis, plants use the energy in sunlight to convert carbon dioxide from the air into simple sugars. These sugars are then used as building blocks and form the main structural component of the plant. Plants rely on soil primarily for water (in quantitative terms), but also obtain nitrogen, phosphorus and other crucial nutrients. Air is a name for the mixture of gases present in the Earths atmosphere. ... Leaf. ... Prism splitting light Sunlight in the broad sense is the total spectrum of electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun. ... This article deals with sugar as food and as an important, widely traded commodity; the word also has other uses; see Sugar (disambiguation) A sugar is a form of carbohydrate; the most commonly used sugar is a white crystalline solid, sucrose; used to alter the flavor and properties (mouthfeel, perservation... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... This article is about the chemical element. ...

Simple plants like algae may have short life spans as individuals, but their populations are commonly seasonal. Other plants may be organized according to their seasonal growth pattern: Download high resolution version (1024x768, 142 KB)Spines on a blackberry bush Taken by User:Fir0002 File links The following pages link to this file: Defense Plant Blackberry Categories: GFDL images ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 142 KB)Spines on a blackberry bush Taken by User:Fir0002 File links The following pages link to this file: Defense Plant Blackberry Categories: GFDL images ...

Among the vascular plants, perennials include both evergreens that keep their leaves the entire year, and deciduous plants which lose their leaves for some part. In temperate and boreal climates, they generally lose their leaves during the winter; many tropical plants lose their leaves during the dry season. An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers and dies in one year. ... A Biennial plant is a plant that takes between twelve and twenty-four months to complete its lifecycle. ... A Red Valerian, a perennial plant. ... A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off). ... In geography, temperate latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. ... Boreal may refer to these: Northern from the eponymous Boreas, god of the North Wind in Greek mythology. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ...

The growth rate of plants is extremely variable. Some mosses grow less than 0.001 mm/h, while most trees grow 0.025-0.250 mm/h. Some climbing species, such as kudzu, which do not need to produce thick supportive tissue, may grow up to 12.5 mm/h. Binomial name Pueraria lobata (Willd. ...

Fossils

Plant fossils include roots, wood, leaves, seeds, fruit, pollen, spores, phytoliths, and amber (the fossilized resin produced by some plants). Fossil land plants are recorded in terrestrial, lacustrine, fluvial and nearshore marine sediments. Pollen, spores and algae (dinoflagellates and acritarchs) are used for dating sedimentary rock sequences. The remains of fossil plants are not as common as fossil animals, although plant fossils are locally abundant in many regions worldwide. A fossil Ammonite Fossils (from Latin fossus, literally having been dug up) are the mineralized or otherwise preserved remains or traces (such as footprints) of animals, plants, and other organisms. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomea purpurea), hollyhock (Sildalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... The term spore has several different meanings in biology. ... A Phytolith is a rigid microscopic body that occurs in many plants. ... Amber pendants. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomea purpurea), hollyhock (Sildalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose (Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... The term spore has several different meanings in biology. ... Classes Dinophyceae Noctiluciphyceae Syndiniophyceae The dinoflagellates are a large group of flagellate protists. ... Acritarchs are small organic structures found as fossils. ...

Early fossils of these ancient plants show the individual cells within the plant tissue. The Devonian period also saw the evolution of what many believe to be the first modern tree, Archaeopteris. This fern-like tree combined a woody trunk with the fronds of a fern, but produced no seeds. Archaeopteris is an extinct genus of tree-like ferns that many scientists believe to be the first tree. ...

The Coal Measures are a major source of Palaeozoic plant fossils, with many groups of plants in existence at this time. The spoil heaps of coal mines are the best places to collect; coal itself is the remains of fossilised plants, though structural detail of the plant fossils is rarely visible in coal. In the Fossil Forest at Victoria Park in Glasgow, Scotland, the stumps of Lepidodendron trees are found in their original growth positions. Photograph of fossil leaves from the plant Ginkgo taken by Dlloyd. ... Photograph of fossil leaves from the plant Ginkgo taken by Dlloyd. ... Binomial name Ginkgo biloba L. The Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), sometimes also known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique tree with no close living relatives. ... A coal measure (stratigraphic unit) is the name given to any rock sequence that occurs in the upper part of the Carboniferous System in Europe. ... The Palaeozoic is a major division of the geologic timescale, one of four geologic eras. ... Coal is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (strip mining). ... Glasgow (or Glaschu in Gaelic) is Scotlands largest city and unitary council, situated on the River Clyde in the countrys west central lowlands. ... Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the UK Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 kmÂ² 1. ... Species See text. ...

The fossilized remains of conifer and angiosperm roots, stems and branches may be locally abundant in lake and inshore sedimentary rocks from the Mesozoic and Caenozoic eras. Sequoia and its allies, magnolia, oak, and palms are often found. The Mesozoic is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ... The Cenozoic or Cainozoic era (sometimes Caenozoic Era) is the most recent of the four classic geological eras. ... Binomial name Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don) Endl. ... Species See text Magnolia is a large genus of about 120 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus, and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ... Genera Many; see list of Arecaceae genera Arecaceae (also known as Palmae), the Palm Family, is a family of flowering plants, belonging to the monocot order, Arecales. ...

Petrified wood is common in some parts of the world, and is most frequently found in arid or desert areas were it is more readily exposed by erosion. Petrified wood is often heavily silicified (the organic material replaced by silicon dioxide), and the impregnated tissue is often preserved in fine detail. Such specimens may be cut and polished using lapidary equipment. Fossil forests of petrified wood have been found in all continents. Petrified log at the Petrified Forest National Park A petrified tree from California Petrified wood is a type of fossil, in which the tissues of a dead plant are replaced with minerals (most often a silicate, such as quartz). ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and other particles) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). ... R-phrases R42 R43 R49 S-phrases S22 S36 S37 S45 S53 Flash point non-flammable Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, Îµr, etc. ... A lapidary (the word means concerned with stones) is an artisan who practices the craft of working, forming and finishing stone, mineral, gemstones, and other suitably durable materials (amber, shell, jet, pearl, copal, coral, horn and bone, glass and other synthetics) into functional and/or decorative, even wearable, items (e. ...

Fossils of seed ferns such as Glossopteris are widely distributed throughout several continents of the southern hemisphere, a fact that gave support to Alfred Wegener's early ideas regarding Continental drift theory. Glossopteris (Greek glossa, meaning tongue, because the leaves were tongue-shaped) is the largest and best-known genus of the extinct order of seed ferns known as Glossopteridales. ... Southern Hemisphere The Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is south of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means half ball). On Earth it contains four continents (part of Africa, Oceania, most of South America, and Antarctica) and four oceans (South Atlantic... Alfred Wegeners theory of continental drift was widely ridiculed in his day. ... Portrayal of shifting continents The concept of continental drift was first proposed by Alfred Wegener. ...

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