The Plant Kingdom

What makes a plant a plant?

All Plants:• Are Eukaryotic (have a nucleus)• Have cell walls made of cellulose• Are Autotrophs – photosynthetic• Are Non-motile (cannot move)

What do plants need to survive?

Plants need:• Sunlight• H2O & CO2

• Nutrients • Water movement

EVOLUTION & BASIC ADAPTATIONS OF PLANTS

The first plants were all NONVASCULAR

They have the following properties:1. No vascular tissue

Can only move water from cell to cell by way of osmosis

2. Lack true roots, stems and leaves3. Can not grow upward4. Live in moist environments – these

plants are highly dependent on water

Examples of nonvascular plants

Mosses Liverworts

What came next in plant evolution?

In the evolution of plants, plants went from living exclusively in water

to living on land.

These plants are called VASCULAR PLANTS

Example of a vascular plant

Vascular Plant PropertiesIn order to survive in a new terrestrial

environment, plants had to be able to do 3 things:

1. Absorb Nutrients2. Prevent Water loss3. Reproduce on land

How did they accomplish this?

Absorbing NutrientsRoot systems and vascular tissue that

allow movement of water and nutrients through the plant body.

Preventing Water Loss1. Cuticle

Waxy covering of the plant2. Stomata

Opening that allows plants to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide

Reproducing On LandSeeds

Contain the embryo of the plant

FlowersA reproductive structure that

produces pollen (sperm) and seeds

(eggs)

All Vascular Plant Have:Vascular tissue:

Special tissues that can move water, nutrients and dissolved minerals through the plant body, even against the force of

gravity.

All Vascular Plant Have:True roots, stems and leaves

All Vascular Plant Have:The ability to grow upward

Plant Taxonomy

Plant ClassificationHistorically botanists used the term

division while zoologist used the term phylum, but they are the same.

Phylum = division

Today these terms are interchangeable

Plant Classification

All plants are classified into one of the following 10

divisions or phyla:

Bryophyta•Mosses • Liverworts

Psilophyta

Club Mosses

Lycophyta

SphenophytaHorsetails

Equisetum

PterophytaFerns

Cycadophyta

Ginkgophyta

Ginkgo biloba

Gnetophyta

Gnetum

Welwitschia

Coniferophyta

Anthophyta