Plant Kingdom

1. 1 Aryan Aditya Nanda
North Point School
Standard - IX
Section - (D)
Roll No - 18

2. 2
Plant Kingdom – Plantae
Democritus Leucippus
Democritus Leucippus
 Kingdom Plantae includes all the plants. They are
eukaryotic, multicellular and autotrophic organisms. The
plant cell contains a rigid cell wall. Plants have
chloroplast and chlorophyll pigment, which is required for
photosynthesis
Characteristics of Kingdom Plantae
The plant kingdom has the following characteristic features:
• They are non-motile.
• They make their own food and hence are called
autotrophs.
• They reproduce asexually by vegetative propagation or
sexually.
• These are multicellular eukaryotes. The plant cell
contains the outer cell wall and a large central vacuole.
• Plants contain photosynthetic pigments called chlorophyll
present in the plastids.
• They have different organelles for anchorage,
reproduction, support and photosynthesis

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Classification of Kingdom Plantae
A plant kingdom is further classified into subgroups.
Classification is based on the following criteria:
 Plant body: Presence or absence of a well-
differentiated plant body. E.g. Root, Stem and
Leaves.
 Vascular system: Presence or absence of a
vascular system for the transportation of water and
other substances.
E.g. Phloem and Xylem.
 Seed formation: Presence or absence of flowers
and seeds and if the seeds are naked or enclosed
in a fruit.
The plant kingdom has been classified into five
subgroups according to the above-mentioned criteria:
• Thallophyta
• Bryophyta
• Pteridophyta
• Gymnosperms
• Angiosperms

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Thallophyta
 Thallophytes lack a well-differentiated body structure and the
plant body is thallus like.
 Thallophytes : Primitive plants where the body is not
differentiated into stem, roots and leaves
 Thallophyta includes plants with primitive and simple body
structures. The plant body is thallus, they may be filamentous,
colonial, branched or unbranched.
 Characteristics of Thallophyta
 They are usually found in moist or wet places.
This is due to the absence of “true roots” and vascular tissue
that is needed to transport water and minerals. Hence they are
found in moist or wet places.
 They are autotrophic in nature.
Most members of this group manufacture their own food. They
have a cell wall composed of cellulose around their cells.
Absence of vascular tissue.
 Sex organs are simple, single-celled, there is no embryo
formation after fertilization.
Examples include green algae, red algae and brown algae.
Common examples are Volvox, Fucus, Spirogyra, Chara,
Polysiphonia, Ulothrix, etc.

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Bryophyta
 Bryophytes do not have vascular tissues. The plant body has
root-like, stem-like and leaf-like structures.
 Bryophytes are terrestrial plants but are known as “amphibians
of the plant kingdom” as they require water for sexual
reproduction. They are present in moist and shady places.
 Bryophyta includes mosses, hornworts and liverworts.
Characteristics of Bryophytes
The important bryophytes characteristics are as follows:
 Plants in this category do not have roots but have crude stems
and leaves.
 They have “rhizoids” instead of roots which helps the plant to
anchor to surface.
 These roots or rhizoids do not absorb nutrients like other usual
plant roots.
 Mosses release spores from their leaves which travels by water
and make new mosses in new locations.
Some of the common examples are ”Marchantia”, “Funaria”,
“Sphagnum”, “Antheoceros”.

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Petridophyta
 Pteridophytes have a well-differentiated plant body into root,
stem and leaves. They have a vascular system for the
conduction of water and other substances. They are one of the
very first “true” plants to adapt to life on land
Pteridophyta Characteristics
Pteridophytes are considered as the first plants to be evolved on
land:
 They are cryptogams, seedless and vascular
 The plant body has true roots, stem and leaves
 Spores develop in sporangia
 Sporangia are produced in groups on sporophylls
 Sex organs are multicellular:
 They show true alternation of generations
Pteridophytes show alternation of generations. Their life cycle is
similar to seed-bearing plants. The sexuality of pteridophytic are
classified as “Dioicous”, “Monoicous”, “Prontandrous”,
“Protogymous”.
Some of the common examples are Selaginella, Equisetum, Pteri,
Man fern, Silver fern

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Gymnosperms
The word “Gymnosperm” comes from the Greek words
“gymnos”(naked) and “sperma”(seed), hence known as “Naked
seeds.” Gymnosperms are the seed-producing plants, but unlike
angiosperms, they produce seeds without fruits. Gymnosperms
have a well-differentiated plant body and vascular tissues.
Characteristics of Gymnosperms
Following are the important characteristics of gymnosperms:
 They do not produce flowers.
 Seeds are not formed inside a fruit. They are naked.
 They are found in colder regions where snowfall occurs.
 They develop needle-like leaves.
 They are perennial or woody, forming trees or bushes.
 They are not differentiated into ovary, style and stigma.
 Since stigma is absent, they are pollinated directly by the wind.
 The male gametophytes produce two gametes, but only one of
them is functional.
 They form cones with reproductive structures.
 The seeds contain endosperm that stores food for the growth
and development of the plant.
Some of the common examples of gymnosperms are Cycas,
Pinus, Ephedra, Thuja,Cedrus,Picea,Abies etc.

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Angiosperms
Angiosperms are vascular plants with stems, roots, and leaves.
The seeds of the angiosperm are found in a flower. These make up
the majority of all plants on earth. The seeds develop inside the
plant organs and form fruit. Hence, they are also known as
flowering plants.
Angiosperms are the most advanced and beneficial group
of plants. They can grow in various habitats as trees, herbs,
shrubs, and bushes.
Characteristics of Angiosperms
Angiosperms have diverse characteristics. The important
characteristics of angiosperms are mentioned below:
 All plants have flowers at some stage in their life. The flowers
are the reproductive organs for the plant, providing them with a
means of exchanging genetic information.
 The sporophyte is differentiated into stems, roots, and leaves.
 The vascular system has true vessels in the xylem and
companion cells in the phloem.
 Angiosperms can survive in a variety of habitats, including
marine habitats.
Some of the common examples are “mango”, “rose”, “tomato”,
“onion”, “wheat”, “maize”, etc.

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Dicots
Dicotyledons are also known as “Dicots”. They are the groups
into which all the flowering plants or angiosperms were formerly
divided. The name dicotyledons refer to the seed having two
embryonic cotyledons. There are around 200,000 species of
dicotyledons discovered to date.
In a dicotyledonous seed, the embryo consists of an embryo axis
and two cotyledons. Cotyledons generally have a swollen
appearance as it acts as a food reserve for the developing
seedling. The embryo axis has two ends.
Characteristics of Dicot
 The seeds of these plants have two cotyledons.
 They contain tap roots, instead of adventitious roots.
 The leaves depict a reticulate venation.
 The flowers are tetramerous or pentamerous and the vascular
bundles are organized in rings.
For eg., grapes, sunflower, tomatoes, peas, almond &
Cashews etc.

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Monocots
Monocotyledon is a classification of flowering plants. Unlike the
dicotyledons, monocotyledons are characterised by only one
embryonic leaf.
A monocotyledonous seed has embryos that possess only one
large cotyledon called scutellum. Generally, the scutellum is
shaped like a shield. It is located laterally towards the side of the
embryo axis.
Characteristics of Monocots:
 The seeds have a single cotyledon.
 The leaves are simples and the veins are parallel.
 This group contains adventitious roots.
 Each floral whorl has three members.
 It has closed vascular bundles and large in number.
For eg., banana, sugarcane, lilies, ginger, banana, sorghum,
onion, coconut and garlic etc.

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Thank You
References :
1) https://byjus.com/biology/dicotyledonous-monocotyledonous-seed/
2) https://byjus.com/biology/gymnosperms/
3) https://byjus.com/biology/bryophyta/
4) https://byjus.com/biology/angiosperms/
5) https://study.com/learn/lesson/monocotyledon-plants-overview-examples.html
6) https://www.senecahs.org/pages/uploaded_files/Plant%20Classification.pdf
7) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_taxonomy
8) https://www.mpalalive.org/classroom/lesson/plant-classification-us
Acknowledgement:
I wish to express my deep gratitude and sincere thanks to the Principal, Mrs Sudha Menon,
North Point School for her encouragement and facilities that she provided for this project work.
I extend my hearty thanks to Mrs J.Kameswari Biology teacher, who guided me to the
successful completion of this project. I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of
gratitude for her invaluable guidance, constant encouragement, immense motivation, which
has sustained my efforts at all the stages of this Project work…
I can’t forget to offer my sincere thanks to parents and also to my sister who helped me to
carry out this project work successful and for their valuable advice and support, which I
received from them time to time….