Download - Kingdom Plantae
Kingdom Plantae
Characteristics
All plants are multi-cellularHave a complex cell structure, have cell
walls, and contain chlorophyllBoth the largest and longest living things
on Earth are plants.
2 Main Groups
Non-vascularVascular
Non-Vascular Plants
Do not have water conducting tissues.Because they cannot conduct water
internally, these plants cannot grow very large.
Must live in moist environments (shaded environments, ocean floors, etc.)◦ Examples: Mosses and liverworts
Liverworts
Grow together in tightly packed mats.This helps them to conserve water.This also helps make reproduction
possible, because the plants use water to pass along genetic information.
Mosses
The tiny capsules that appear at the top of moss plants contain spores.
Vascular Plants
Conduct water, minerals, and food molecules throughout their bodies.
They do this through roots, stems, and leaves.
Vascular tissues holds the plant up and allows it to get tall.
Without vascular tissue, plants could never grow more than 10-20 cm tall.
5 Types of Vascular Plants
Club MossesHoresetailsFernsGymnospermsAngiosperms
Club Mosses
Vascular plants that resemble mossesThe stems of club mosses are much
sturdier due to their vascular tissues and therefore they can grow much larger than mosses.
Horsetails
Have hollow stems with many vertical ridges and joints.
Their stems feel gritty due to the presence of silica, the material in sand.
Because they are gritty and coarse, early settlers often used them to scour pots and pans.
Ferns
Have distinctive leaves called fronds The stems of ferns remain below ground.The bumps that appear on the underside
of the fronds are not a disease or bugs, they are structures that contain spores.
Gymnosperms
One of the two types of seed plantsMost are conifers
◦Cone-bearing plantsExamples: Pine trees, spruce trees, juniper
trees, and cypress trees
Angiosperms
Flowering PlantsThe largest most diverse group of modern
plants.Their seeds are produced inside of a
special structure called an ovary which is part of the flower.◦The ovary of a flower ripens into a fruit
Examples: Grass, palms, oranges, lily
Angiosperms