Plant classification: examples and characteristics of the main systematic groups

All plants existing on the planet are so numerous and diverse that scientists have repeatedly tried to systematize them. To this end, they divided representatives of the flora into various species and groups. This peculiar sorting is based on their main characteristics. In our article, a systematic classification of plants will be given. In addition, their main features and structural features will be indicated.

Plant classification: examples and symptoms

First of all, it is worth saying that plants are organisms capable of autotrophic nutrition. They independently produce organic matter - carbohydrate glucose in the process of photosynthesis from carbon dioxide and water. This process takes place in chloroplasts - green plastids. But on one condition: if there is sunlight. The biological name for this action is photosynthesis. This is the main feature that characterizes the kingdom of plants, the classification of which is based on the features of their structure in the framework of the evolution process. Its founder is Jean Baptiste Lamarck, who introduced the double (binary) names of the species. The classification of plants (table with examples) is given at the end of our article.

Lower plants

The first and most primitive plants that arose during evolution are algae. They are also called inferior. It is also a systematic classification of plants. Examples of this group: chlamydomonas, chlorella, spirogyra, kelp, sargassum, etc. The lower plants are united by the fact that their body is formed by separate cells that do not create tissues. It is called the thallus or thallus. Algae roots are also absent. The function of attachment to the substrate is performed by filiform rhizoid formations. Visually, they resemble roots, but differ from them in the absence of tissues.

Higher plants

Now consider the types of plants, the classification of which is based on the complexity of the structure. These are the so-called first landlords. Developed mechanical and conductive tissues are necessary for life in this environment. The first land plants - riniophytes - were small organisms. They were deprived of leaves and roots, but had some tissues: primarily mechanical and conductive, without which life on plants on land was impossible. Their body consisted of aboveground and underground parts, however, instead of roots there were rhizoids. Rhinophyte reproduction occurred using asexual reproduction cells - spores. Paleontologists claim that the first higher land plants arose 400 million years ago.

Higher spore plants

The modern classification of plants, examples of which are given in the article, suggests a complication of their structure in connection with adaptation to changing environmental conditions. Mosses, crowns, horsetails and ferns are among the first terrestrial organisms. They reproduce through spores. In the life cycle of these plants, an alternation of generations is observed: sexual and asexual, with the predominance of one of them.

Higher seed plants

This vast group of plants unites organisms that reproduce generatively through seed. It is more complex in comparison with disputes. A seed consists of a germ surrounded by a reserve nutrient and a peel. It protects the future organism from adverse conditions during development. Thanks to this structure, the seed is more likely to develop and germinate, although certain conditions are necessary for this: the presence of heat, sufficient solar energy and moisture. This group combines two departments: holo - and angiosperms.

Gymnosperms

A characteristic feature of this unit is the absence of flowers and fruits. Seeds develop on the scales of cones openly, i.e. bare. Therefore, plants of this group have received such a name. Most gymnosperms are represented by conifers. They are characterized by apical shoot growth, the presence of special passages filled with resin and essential oils. The needle-like leaves of these plants are called needles. Their stomata are also filled with resin, which prevents the process of excessive evaporation and unwanted moisture loss. Therefore, most conifers are evergreen. They do not drop foliage with the onset of the cold season. Cones of all gymnosperms are not fruits, because they do not form flowers. This is a special modification of the shoot, which performs the function of generative propagation.

Angiosperms

This is the largest group of plants that are most complexly constructed. Currently they occupy a dominant position on the planet. Their characteristic features are the presence of flowers and fruits. The angiosperms department, in turn, is divided into two classes: monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous. Their main systematic feature is the corresponding number of cotyledons in the seed germ. A brief classification of plants, examples and main structural features of the main systematic units are given in the table. It illustrates the complexity in the structure of organisms in the process of evolution.

Plant classification: table with examples

All representatives of the flora can be systematized. Let's summarize all of the above using the table below:

The existing classification of plant organisms greatly facilitates the process of their study, allows you to establish the characteristic features and relationships between different groups.