Plant Kingdom

Introduction

The Plant Kingdom is one of the significant Kingdom classes of the Five Kingdoms classifications. In a nutshell, the Plant Kingdom is a class of all types of plants and their seeds. The Plant Kingdom can acquaint you with all significant concepts of plants, starting from their general characteristics, types, and importance. The Plant kingdom is broad and has several subclassifications for each type of organism. All Kingdoms are interrelated and incomplete without each other; hence, learning about the Plant Kingdom is essential. 

About the Plant Kingdom

The Plant Kingdom (Kingdom Plantae) is a class of Five Kingdom classifications given by Robert Whittaker in 1969. All categories of plants and their seeds are grouped into this class, namely the Plant Kingdom. It is further classified into many smaller classes based on their properties, importance and nature for a more thorough understanding. However, all organisms of the class have multicellular traits and nuclei present cells, i.e., Eukaryotic.

The only primary source of energy in the world is the sun; directly or indirectly, we are dependent on it, but an organism cannot utilise sunlight directly for all needs. This is where the Plant Kingdom helps the ecosystem. The Plant Kingdom promotes energy flow by converting the sun’s energy and supplying it to consumers of the ecosystem. A plant can be defined as a creature that uses chlorophyll pigments to absorb radiant energy from the sun in order to process photosynthesis for survival.

Features of the plant kingdom

Every organism has unique features and traits, and hence they all cannot be placed in one category. Several characteristics are matched with general Plantae characteristics before categorising to classify the Plant Kingdom among other kingdoms of life. Firstly, plants are producers of the ecosystem, i.e., autotrophs, and hence, they’re interdependent and only rely on natural resources such as sunlight and water. They’re generally eukaryotes with multicellular structures. 

Classification of the Plant Kingdom

The whole Plant Kingdom is mainly divided into two categories: Cryptogams and Phanerogams. Cryptogams are flowers with no seed-bearing, flowering traits, and they reproduce through spore formation. In contrast, Phanerogams have flowering and seed-bearing capabilities.

However, the Plant Kingdom is too vast and consists of innumerable species. Hence to make identification easier, these two classes of the Plant Kingdom are further classified into overall five categories, namely: Bryophyta, Thallophyta, Pteridophyta, Gymnosperms and angiosperms. 

Cryptogams

Three among five categories of the sub-classification fall under the cryptogams category: Bryophyta, Thallophyta, and Pteridophyta.

• Bryophyta

Bryophytes are three groups of nonvascular land plants (embryophytes): the hornworts, the mosses, and the liverworts. They tend to be small and prefer moist environments, but they can live in drier ones. About 20,000 different plant species make up the bryophytes.

• Thallophyta

The Plant Kingdom’s Thallophyta division includes primitive forms of plant life with a simple plant structure. Algae, fungi, and lichens range in different sizes. The thallophytes are the first ten taxa of the taxonomic tree, and their roots, stems, and leaves are all unique. 

• Pteridophyta

A pteridophyte can be described as a vascular plant that disperses spores alongside xylem and phloem tissues. Pteridophytes are sometimes referred to as “cryptogams,” meaning their reproductive mechanism is hidden because they don’t produce flowers or seeds. 

Phanerogams

Phanerogams has only two crucial categories that have flowering and seed-bearing traits, namely Gymnosperms and angiosperms.

• Gymnosperms

Acrogymnospermae is the clade of living Gymnospermae that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, gnetophytes, and other seed-producing plants.

• Angiosperms

Flowering plants, known as angiosperms, produce fruit that contains their seeds. About 300,000 species make up the largest and most diverse group of plants in the kingdom Plantae. Most of our food comes from angiosperms, including grains, beans, and most fruits and vegetables.

Nonvascular plants

All classifications before here were the classes with vascular- systems. Generally, they have xylem and phloem tissues present in their system, which help organisms, i.e., plants, absorb and transport food and other necessities. Nonvascular plants are a different class among all. The plants with no xylem and phloem tissues do not have vascular systems. These classes absorb and do other processes with the help of their tissues. However, a cryptogram, Bryophyta, consists of an informal vascular system. Aside from it, nonvascular plants have only one subclass, namely Algae.

• Algae

Plants that do not have the presence of true roots, stems, and leaves tend to reproduce via the unique process. Generally, algae can be said attached to chiefly aquatic, nucleus-bearing and photosynthetic organisms.

Conclusion

The Plant Kingdom is one of the five major kingdoms of life along with Monera, Fungi, Animal and Protist. The Plant Kingdom’s all vascular plants are sub-classified into five other groups, namely Bryophyta, Thallophyta, Pteridophyta, gymnosperms and angiosperms. Aside from it, the Plant Kingdom consists of nonvascular organisms, which are further categorised as algae. Owing to such significant and unmatchable characteristics, we can say that without the Plant Kingdom, life is not possible.