Diversity of Life: Chapter 3 Lesson 2 Classifying Plants

Classifying Plants

•Non Vascular Plants•Seedless Vascular Plants•Seed Plants

Non Vascular Plants

• Lack vascular tissue (tubelike structures that carry food,

water and nutrients) for transporting materials.• Characteristics:– Low-growing- b/c not tissue to support or

transport materials– Thin cell wall- so can’t grow more than a few cm

tall– No root- has rhizoids- anchors plant & absorbs

water & nutrients

Non Vascular Plants: Examples• Mosses

– More than 10,000 species– Rhizoids anchor the moss and absorb water & nutrients– Grows a long, slender stalk with a capsule at the end – Capsule (cell capable of surviving unfavorable conditions & then

growing into a new organism) contains spores for reproduction

Non Vascular Plants: ExamplesLiverworts

• Human liver shape• More than 8,000 species• Found growing as thick

crust on moist rocks or soil along sides of stream

Hornworts• Horn-like, curved structures• Fewer than 100 species• Usually live in moist soil or

mixed in with grass plants

Seedless Vascular Plants• Have Vascular Tissue (Tall)–Can grow tall b/c they can effectively

transport materials throughout the plant– Strengthens the plants’ body and gives

stability/ also has strong cell walls

• Reproduce by releasing spores

Seedless Vascular Plants• Two types of vascular tissue–Phloem: vascular tissue through which

food moves within some plants–Xylem: vascular tissue though which

water and minerals move within some plants

Examples of Seedless Vascular Plants• Ferns- more than 12, 000 species alive today– Range in size – tiny up to 5 meters tall– Thrives in shaded areas & moist soil– Some green all year round & some turn brown in fall

then regrow in spring• Structure- stems, roots, leaves– Stems- most grow underground– leaves- upward from top of stem– Roots- downward from bottom of stem– Frond- ferns’ leaves- coated with a cuticle (waxy

coating) that helps plant retain moisture

Examples of Seedless Vascular Plants• Club Mosses & Horsetails– Have true stems, roots, leaves– Few species alive today

• Club Mosses– Not true moss b/c have vascular tissue– Found in moist woodlands & near streams

• Horsetails– Only 30 species alive today– In Colonial times Americans used to scrub pots & pans

Seed Plants• Seed plants

– Outnumber seedless plants 10 to 1– We eat them, wear clothes made from them, homes built

out of them, they produce oxygen

• 2 Important characteristics– Have vascular tissue– Have pollen & seeds to reproduce

• Other characteristics– Roots, stems, leaves– Most live on land: challenges- standing upright & supplying all

cells with food & water (job of vascular tissue)

Giant Sequoia

Seed Plants: Pollen & Seeds• Can live in a variety of environments (unlike

seedless plants)• Need water for fertilization to occur• Produce pollen- tiny structures that contain

the cells that will later become sperm cells• Pollen- delivers sperm cells to egg cells • Sperm cell Fertilizes egg cell SEED develops• Seed- structure that contains a young plant

inside a protective covering

Seed Plants: Gymnosperms

• Gymnosperm- a seed plant that produces “naked” seeds (not enclosed by a protective fruit)

• Many have needlelike or scale like leaves• Deep growing root systems• Oldest type of seed plant

Seed Plants: Gymnosperms• 4 Types

– Cyads: in tropical/subtropical

ex-palm trees

– Conifers: “cone bearing” ex- evergreens

– Ginkgoes: Ginkgo biloba (last species alive, Chinese & Japanese cared for it in gardens)

– Gnetophytes: hot desert/tropical regions, some trees, shrubs and vines

Seed Plants: Angiosperms

• Flowering Plants– Produce flowers– Produce seeds enclosed in fruits– Live almost everywhere on Earth (jungles, arctic,

deserts, ocean’s edge, ect…)– 2 types: monocotyledon and dicotyledon

Seed Plants: AngiospermsMONOCOT DICOT

SEED 1 seed leaf 2 seed leaves

LEAF Parallel veins Branched veins

FLOWER Floral parts in multiples of 3

Floral parts in 4 or 5

STEM Vascular tissue scattered in stems

Vascular tissue patterned in a ring around center

ROOT Many roots spread out 1 main root- tap root

Seed Plants: AngiospermsMonocot Examples Dicot Examples