Register Login

Plant Kingdom

Subject: Science

Find Your Query

Overview

Plant kingdom includes all the unicellular and multicellular plants. Cryptogams are primitive and simplest plants while all kinds of flowering plants are called phanerogams. Algae include all those thallophytes which contain green pigment as chlorophyll. This note provides us the information about plant kingdom and it's classification with example.
Plant Kingdom

Carolos Linnaeus divided the world of living organisms into two kingdoms: animal kingdom and plant kingdom . There are millions of species of plants. They vary from small size to a large size. On the basis of presence or absence of flowers, all the plants are divided into two major sub-kingdoms: cryptogams and phanerogams.

Sub kingdom: Cryptogams

They are promitive and somplest plants without flowers. They are On the basis of appearance and stage of development, cryptogams are divided into three divisions. They are: Thallophyta, bryophyta and pteridophyta.

Division: Thallophyta

They are the most primitive and the simplest plants. They may be multicellular or multicellular. They possess following characteristics:

  1. Thallophytes may be unicellular or multicellular plants.
  2. The plant body is not differentiated into root, stem and leaves.
  3. They reproduce both by asexual and sexual method.

Thallophyta is divided into two sub-divisions. They are algae and fungi.

algae

fungi

Sub-division: Algae

Algae are the green thallophytes which have the following characteristics:

  1. Mostly, algae are usually aquatic but few are grown in moist soil.
  2. They contain chlorophyll, so they can prepare their food.
  3. The cell wall of plants is made up of cellulose.
  4. They store food in the form of starch.
  5. Reproduction takes place by vegetative, asexual and sexual method.

Examples: spirogyra, sea-weeds, volvox, etc.

spirogyra

sea-weeds

Sub-division: Fungi

Fungi include non-green plants and have following characteristics:

  1. They are grown in damp, moist and dark places.
  2. They cannot make their own food due to absence of chlorophyll.
  3. The fungi consist of network of mycelium which consists of thread like structures called hyphae.
  4. They store food in the form of glycogen, and oil globules.
  5. They reproduce by vegetative, asexual and sexual method.

Examples: mushroom, mucor, yeast, ring worm etc.


Division: Bryophyta

Bryophyta have the following characteristics:

  1. They are grown in damp, moist and shady places.
  2. They contain chlorophyll so they are autotrophic.
  3. They need water for fertilization so they are also called amphibian plants.
  4. They show distinct alternation of generation in their life cycle.
  5. They reproduce by vegetative, asexual and sexual method.

Examples: moss, liverworts etc.


Division: Pteridophyta

Pteridophyta are seedless vascular plants . They are seedless vascular plants and have the following characteristics:

  1. They are mostly found in moist, shady and cool places.
  2. Plant body is differentiated into roots, stem and leaves.
  3. They are vascular plants and bear feather like leaves.
  4. They contain chlorophyll so they are autotrophic.
  5. They are well developed among all non-flowering plants.

Examples: fern, horsetail, paniamala etc.

Fern

Horsetail
Things to remember
  • Plant kingdom includes all the unicellular and multicellular plants.
  • Cryptogams are primitive and simplest plants while all kinds of flowering plants are called phanerogams.
  • Algae include all those thallophytes which contain green pigment as chlorophyll.
  • Fungi include those thallophytes in which chlorophyll is absent.
  • Bryophyta is a group of simplest land green plants.
  • It includes every relationship which established among the people.
  • There can be more than one community in a society. Community smaller than society.
  • It is a network of social relationships which cannot see or touched.
  • common interests and common objectives are not necessary for society.
Videos for Plant Kingdom
Criteria for classification of plants
Questions and Answers
The major groups of plant kingdom are:
i) Cryptogams (Non-flowering) and
ii) Phanerogams (flowering)
The groups of plants which do not bear flower and seeds are called cryptogams. It is sub-divided into three divisions:
i) Thallophyta
ii) Bryophyta
iii) Pteridophyta
The characteristics feature of cryptogams are:
i) They do not bear flower and seed.
ii) They are lower plants.
iii) They reproduce by both a sexual and asexual methods.
iv) They may be unicellular or multicellular.
v) Their mode of nutrition is autotrophic or heterotrophic.
Some features of Thallophyta are as follows:
i) The plant body is not differentiated into roots, stems and leaves.
ii) They may be unicellular or multicellular.
iii) They are autotrophic or heterotrophic.
The differences between algae and fungi are as follows:
Algae Fungi
i) Algae are autotrophic. i) Fungi are heterotrophic.
ii) The cell wall is made up of cellulose. ii) The cell wall or hyphae wall is of fungal cellulose or chitin.
iii) They reproduce both by sexually and asexually. iii) Reproduction is by formation of spores and sexual method.
The plants which prepare their own food are known as autotroph.
The plant which does not prepare their own food is known as heterotroph.
Nostoc
Sub-division = Algae
i) It prepares food itself due to presence of chlorophyll.
ii) It is mostly aquatic, only few species are terrestrial.
Yeast
Sub-division = fungi
i) Fungi are heterotrophic.
ii) They obtain their nutrition as saprophytes or parasites.
A thin film of water is necessary for fertilization in bryophyte. The moisture should be available for a least part of year so that motile antherzoids may swim to the archegonium through a film of water. So, water is necessary for the completion life cycle through the plants grow on land. Thus, the bryophytes are called amphibians of plant kingdom.
The three features of bryophyte are as follows:
i) They show alternation of generation with gametophyte as main generation.
ii) They are found in moist and shady places.
iii) They prepare their own food due to the presence of chlorophyll.
The important features of pteridophyta are as follows:
i) They are sporophyte.
ii) They possess xylem and phloem tissues.
e.g. fern, horse tail, lycopodium, selaginnellia, equisetum etc.
Pteridophytes are more advanced than Bryophytes due to the following reasons:
a) Plant body is well developed into root, stem and leaves.
b) Pteridophytes possess vascular tissues: xylem and phloem.
Division of the following organisms are as follows:
Organism Division
Mucor Thallophyta(Fungi)
Horse tail Pteridophyta
Lycopodium Pteridophyta
Yeast Thallophyta(Fungi)
Chlamydomonas Thallophyta(Algae)
Riccia Bryophyta
Ulothrix Thallophyta(Algae)
Ferns Pteridophyta
Liverworts Bryophyta
The difference between moss and fern are as follows:
Moss Fern
It falls on bryophyta division. It falls on pteridophyta division.
It does not contain xylem and phloem tissues. It contains xylem and phloem tissues.
Fern plants are important because
i) They can be used in decorative purposes.
ii) They are used as medicinal herbs.
Riccia
Kingdom: plant
Sub-Kingdom: cryptogams
Division: Bryophyta

Volvox
Kingdom: plant
Sub-Kingdom: cryptogams
Division: Thallophyta
Sub-Division: Algae

Mushroom
Kingdom: plant
Sub-Kingdom: cryptogams
Division: Thallophyta
Sub-Division: Fungi

Marchantia
Kingdom: plant
Sub-Kingdom: cryptogams
Division: Bryophyta

Horse-tail
Kingdom: plant
Sub-Kingdom: cryptogams
Division: Pteridophyta

Spirogyra
Kingdom: plant
Sub-Kingdom: cryptogams
Division: Thallophyta
Sub-Division: Algae

Marsilea
Kingdom: plant
Sub-Kingdom: cryptogams
Division: Pteridophyta
Quiz

© 2019-20 Kullabs. All Rights Reserved.