Classification of plants

The plants they are living beings that they bring us many benefits, from recycling the carbon dioxide we generate and converting it into oxygen to producing the fruit we eat or the flowers that adorn our homes. If you take a close look at the plants that surround us, you can realize two things: one, they are many (especially if you live in a rural area or near the sea) and two, they are very varied.

The classification of plants It is done according to different characteristics: habitat in which they live, how they reproduce, the complexity of their tissues and organs, etc. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will see what is the classification of plants, giving examples of the types of plants.

Index

1. Main classification of plants: lower plants and higher plants
2. Bryophytes or mosses
3. Pteridophytes or ferns
4. Gymnosperms or fruitless plants
5. Angiosperms or plants with fruit

The vegetal kingdom

The classification of plants that we currently use is very old and, despite the fact that more plant species have been known from remote areas, it is still widely used. Currently, vegetables are classified into:

• Lower floors: reproduce by spores and include bryophytes (or mosses) and the pteridophytes (or ferns).
• Higher plants or spermatophytes: they have flowers and reproduce by seeds. They include: Gymnosperms (fruitless plants) and Angiosperms (plants with fruit). Within the latter, as we will see later, we can find: monocots Y dicotyledonous.

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Bryophytes were the first plants to adapt to the terrestrial environment And although we usually refer to them as mosses, they also comprise another group of organisms called liverworts, which look similar to algae.

These plants have an epidermal tissue that prevents water loss, but they lack conductive tissues so they are still highly dependent on it. The absorbed water and mineral salts must pass cell by cell, which means that the transport of substances is very slow and, therefore, bryophytes are usually small in size.

Bryophytes are, in general very simple plantss:

• no conductive cups
• without flowers or fruits
• live in very humid and shady environments
• often form wet green pads on rocks or walls at the edges of streams or fountains
• reproduce by asexual reproduction by fragmentation and sexual reproduction by spores, usually alternating between generations
• They have an important ecological task: they serve as food and protection for many animals, protect the soil from erosion and facilitate the installation of higher plants.

Moss species

• Rhizomnium punctatum (dotted thyme-moss)
• Ceratodon purpureus
• Sphagnum subnitens
• Sphagnum centrale
• Mnium stellare (starry thyme or calcareous stellar moss)
• Bryum argenteum
• Bryum capillare
• Neckera crispa
• Eucladium verticillatum
• Orthotrichum lyellii (Lyell's bristle moss)

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Continuing with the Classification of plants, we will now talk about the pteridophytes that are the first plants with root, stem and leaves (cormophytes), although they lack flowers and fruits.

As a novelty compared to bryophytes, ferns have conductive tissues that can effectively distribute the water they absorb from the soil throughout the plant. Thanks to them, pteridophytes can reach heights of 1 or 2 meters in temperate countries, and up to 16 meters in tropical forests.

Pteridophytes have the following features:

• They have a corm structure: true roots, stems and leaves. Its stem, which is underground, is called a rhizome and its widely divided leaves are called fronds.
• Without flowers and without fruits
• live in very humid and shady environments
• In times of drought the fronde dries up and rolls up, while the rhizome remains alive if there is moisture in the soil. When there is moisture again, the fronds recover.
• Like bryophytes, ferns have asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction with spores and alternation of generations.

Examples of ferns

Here is a list of 7 examples of ferns:

• Asplenium nidus (Bird's Nest or Asplenium fern)
• Blechnum gibbum (Parrot Yerba)
• Cyathea cooperi
• Balantium antarcticum
• Nephrolepis exaltata (sword fern)
• Pteridium aquilinum (eagle or amambáy fern)
• Matteuccia struthiopteris (ostrich fern)

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Gymnosperms form, together with angiosperms, the group of spermatophytes. Both types of plants have achieved detach from the aquatic environment and to be able to live in the dry terrestrial environment, thanks to the appearance of seeds. The seeds protect the embryo from drought, making them water-independent plants for reproduction.

The main features of gymnosperms are:

• They have a corm structure: true roots, stems and leaves.
• They have inconspicuous flowers. They are unisexual flowers, without calyx and without corolla.
• They lack an ovary and therefore have no fruit. They have what are called naked seeds (not enclosed in fruit).
• The seeds are usually inside a cone or pineapple, which protects them somewhat from the outside.
• They have arboreal or shrubby bearing.
• Almost all gymnosperm species are perennial

Examples of gymnosperms

Examples of the most common gymnosperms include:

• Pine trees: Pinus radiata, Pinus pinaster, Pinus halepensis, Pinus canariensis, etc.
• Firs: Abies alba, Abies grandis, Abies lasiocarpa, Abies sachalinensis, etc.
• Cypress trees: Cupressus sempervirens, Cupressus funebris, Cupressus chengiana, Cupressus atlantica, etc.
• Juniper (Juniperus communis)
• Common yew or black yew (Taxus baccata)
• Ginkgo biloba
• Ephedra (Ephedra distachya)

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We finish this classification of plants to talk about angiosperms, which are the most studied plants due to the great economic importance that they entail for the human being. They are flowering plants that reproduce by seeds and whose seeds are enclosed inside the fruit, very precious to animals and humans for its nutritional quality.

Angiosperms are plants that:

• They have a corm structure: true roots, stems and leaves.
• They have showy flowers. The vast majority are hermaphroditic flowers, with male and female sexual organs.
• They have an ovary and therefore have fruit. They have what are called protected seeds (enclosed in fruit).
• They have a herbaceous, arboreal or shrubby habit.
• They live in a large number of environments.

Types of angiosperms

Within the angiosperms we can find two groups: monocots and dicots. This classification is made according to the number of the type of cotyledon that each species presents. The cotyledon is the first leaf to appear as the plant develops. If the first stem that develops the seed of the plant has a leaf, it is said to be monocotyledonous and if it has two leaves, it is said to be dicotyledonous. The differences between the two types are as follows:

• Dicotyledons: They have 2 cotyledons, leaves with branching nerves and a taproot
• Monocots (1 cotyledon): leaves with parallel veins and a fasciculate root

Some examples of angiosperm plantss are:

• Holm oak (Quercus ilex)
• Apple tree (Malus domestica)
• Peach tree (Prunus persica)
• Onion (Allium cepa)
• Garlic (Allium sativum)
• Almond tree (Prunus dulcis)
• Pear tree (Pyrus communis)
• Chestnut (Castanea sativa)
• Flowering cherry (Prunus serrulata)
• Weeping willowSalix babylonica)
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.)
• Wheat (Triticum spp)
• Lilies (Lilium spp)
• Orchids (Orchidaceae spp)
• Palm trees or palms (Arecaceae spp)

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If you want to read more articles similar to Classification of plants, we recommend that you enter our category of biology.

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