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This blog will explore you in detail about the Kingdom Plantae and discuss algae, angiosperms, gymnosperms, bryophytes, pteridophytes, etc.

this flow diagram will procvide you the overall roadmap of the blog on kingdom plantae and algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms — **Roadmap For The Blog**

At a Glance Of Kingdom Plantae

In the previous blog, we have gone through the Five kingdoms system given by R.H. Whittaker in 1996. We know how living organisms are divided into five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. Same like other living organisms’ plants also get divide into various phyla and summarized under KINGDOM PLANTAE.

This kingdom is divided into various categories and their classes viz. Algae, Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms. We know in the earlier classification of the two-kingdom system by Carl Linnaeus. Plants were classified from their overall superficial morphological characteristics like habit, color, number, and leaves shape.

This type of classification is an Artificial system in which equal weightage is given to vegetative and sexual characteristics.

Despite the previous classification, further Natural Classification systems were developed to overcome the drawback of artificial systems. The drawback is that the vegetative characteristics taken under consideration in the artificial system are easily affected by the environment. Therefore, the natural classification system is the opposite of an artificial system.

Natural classification systems consider the external and internal characteristics of plants. Like their anatomy, physiology, phytochemistry, embryology, etc. A similar classification of flowering plants given by George Bentham and Joseph Dalton Hooker. At present, the most acceptable system for classification is the PHYLOGENETIC CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM.

This system is based on the criteria of the evolutionary relationship between different organisms. Evolutionary relationship means the organisms from the same texa have common ancestors. It is the same way you and your ancestors mean your grandparents have, evolutionary relationship.

This classification helps collect and separate data storage easier in numerical taxonomy, cytotaxonomy, and chemotaxonomy. Kingdom Plantae consists of all organisms that can produce their food via photosynthesis. It constitutes Algae, Bryophyte, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms.

Algae In Kingdom Plantae

It is a vast group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. The chlorophyll-containing, simple, autotrophic, thalloid, and largely aquatic can present fresh and marine water. It is commonly found in moist areas, soil, and wood. It can also be present in association with lichens and animals.

Different forms and sizes of algae are present in nature, and they can present in colonies like volvox. Filamentous form means with thread-like structure, spirogyra, and ulothrix. Some forms of algae-like kelps can form massive plant bodies in spite of their small size.

For better understanding, you can imagine algae as a living body standing with the help of a stick or any solid thing. Algae has various properties; half of the total carbon dioxide on the earth is fixed by algae. It can be used as a food supplement.

As per the example, chlorella, a unicellular alga that is a rich source of protein, is used as a food supplement by space travelers. The methods of reproduction used by algae are vegetative by fragmentation; each formed fragment can develop into a thallus.

Asexual reproduction by producing different spores most commonly forms zoospore, flagellated, motile. It can form new plants on germination and sexual through the fusion of two gametes.

These gametes can be flagellated. And similar in size like ulothrix or non-flagellated and similar in size like in spirogyra. Such type of reproduction is known as Isogamous. When two gametes of dissimilar size fuse, it is termed Anisogamy. And when one large, static female gamete and small motile male gamete fuse, it is known as Oogamous. Thus, algae have a remarkable ability to survive during a disaster. Algae is further classified into three classes, namely Phaeophyceae, Chlorophyceae, and Rhodophyceae.

Phaeophyceae

It is commonly called Brown Algae. Primarily it is present in marine habitats. However, it shows great variation in size and forms. It contains chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c, carotenoid, and xanthophyll. Chlorophylls are a green color pigment primarily used for photosynthesis. In comparison, Carotenoids are yellow to red color pigments, including carotenes and xanthophylls that are accessory pigments.

The color shade depends on the amount of xanthophyll pigment present. It consists of a large group of multicellular algae. The food is stored as complex carbohydrates. The reproduction method followed by Phaeophyceae can be sexual. And that can be isogamous, anisogamous, or oogamous. Asexual by biflagellate (present with two flagella) zoospores. And the vegetative type of reproduction can be fragmentation—for Example, laminaria, dictyota, etc.

Chlorophyceae

These are also known as Green Algae. It has the dominance of chlorophyll pigment a and c, due to which it looks like grass green in color. Chlorophyll b helps in photosynthesis by absorbing light. It is more soluble than chlorophyll, because of its carbonyl group, in polar solvents. It is a unicellular, filamentous plant body. It consists of a storage body called pyrenoids and located in the chloroplast. It has a rigid cell wall with an inner layer of cellulose and outer pectose.

The reproduction methods followed by these algae are vegetative mode—the asexual mode by flagellated zoospores. And sexual, which may be isogamous, anisogamous, or oogamous.

Rhodophyceae

It is also called Red Algae due to the dominant presence of red pigment r-phycoerythrin in their body. It also contains chlorophyll a and chlorophyll d. Rhodophyceae store food in the form of Floridian starch. It is found in marine water, and more concentration is found in warmer areas.

They reproduce vegetatively by fragmentation, asexually by non-motile spores, and sexually by non-motile gametes. Sexual reproduction can be oogamous. The cell wall is composed of cellulose, pectin, as well as polysulphate esters.

Bryophytes In Kingdom Plantae

It comprises non-flowering plants, known as liverworts, mosses, and hornworts; these are non-vascular land plants. They can survive in dry and hot climates, too, for better clearance. Everyone likes to sit in lawn gardens during hot summers, due to which they are also called amphibians of the plant kingdom. That lawn grass is also a type of bryophyte which is providing a cooling sensation in summers.

These are commonly grown in moist, shaded areas in hills. It plays an important role in plant succession on bare rocks or soil. Bryophytes possess a more differentiated body than algae. It does not have true roots, stems, or leaves but may possess root-like, steam like and leaves-like structures just like Batman without his bat suit. The main plant body of bryophytes is a haploid that produces gametes hence known as a gametophyte.

In contrast, the sex organs in bryophytes are multicellular. For example, the female sex organ in bryophytes is known as archegonium, which produces a single egg. And the male sex organ called antheridium produces antherozoids.

this diagram will provide you the detail information about Bryopytes and its classes — **Division of Bryophytes**

Liverworts

These are the non-vascular plants similar to mosses. It does not produce seed, fruit, flower, and wood. Hence it is different from the other plants. It mainly grows in wet, moist places. As they do not possess a true plant body, they don’t have a leaf network, and hence it can also call as thallus. Its leaves are fleshy and globular in appearance.

It does not contain chlorophyll and stomata. Instead, it reproduces by asexual mode by forming special cells called gemmae and by sexual mode.

Mosses

These are the best alternative for lawn grass. It is also used to form carpet woodland and forest floors and gives a velvety appearance. At least 12000 species of these non-vascular, flowerless, and spore-bearing land plants are currently present.

Mosses are helpful in the control of soil erosion as it forms dense green clump or mat on the soil surface and absorbs water. Mosses are found mostly in moist, shady, and damp areas. Thus, it plays a role in the nutrient and water economy. It does not have true leaves but has leaves like a flat green structure attached in the spiral to central stalk or Seta.

Mosses absorb water and nutrients directly through these leaf-like structures. The reproduction in mosses is by vegetative mode or by sexual mode through the formation and fusion of gametes—for example, Funaria, Polystichum, etc.

Pteridophytes In Kingdom Plantae

Apart from another member of the kingdom, Plantae, pteridophytes are vascular plants. They cannot produce flowers and seeds; hence they spread their spores to increase their population. Pteridophytes are also called cryptogams because of their hidden mode of reproduction. Pteridophytes are assumed to be the first plants to be evolved on land and possess vascular tissues xylem and phloem.

Pteridophytes are the oldest form of plants present on the earth. Unlike bryophytes and algae, pteridophytes possess true roots, stems, and leaves. Thus, it is a plant that shows true alternation of generation.

The spores develop in the spore-producing organ called sporangium through meiosis.

Spores can be homosporous, that is, of the same type or heterosporous of different spores. It has medicinal importance and is also well known as soil binders. The main plant body of pteridophytes is spore-producing sporophyte.

It can develop and flourish in sandy soil: the megaspore and microspore form female and male gametophyte.

Water is required for the transport of antherozoids to reach up to the mouth of the archegonium, which further results in zygote formation.

There are many such specific and restricted requirements and the need for water in fertilization, therefore the spread of living pteridophytes is limited to narrow geographical regions. Examples of pteridophytes: horsetail, fern, club moss, etc.

Pteridophytes are get divided into few classes namely psilopsida, lycopsids, sphenopsida, and pteropsida.

this diagram will provide you the detail information about pteridophytes and its classes — **Classes of Pteridophytes**

Gymnosperms In Kingdom Plantae

Gymnosperms, the name indicates the meaning of this word gymnos means naked and Sperma means seeds. We all are well aware of the Christmas tree, so imagine the Christmas tree. These are the plants under kingdom Plantae whose ovules are not enclosed by one ovary wall. It remains exposed before and after fertilization.

The seeds form after the fertilization process are naked. It includes medium or tall size trees or shrubs. Suppose you observe the roots of these trees. In that case, they are primarily Taproots, or sometimes they are with the fungal association in the form of mycorrhiza. And some are associated with nitrogen-fixing with cyanobacteria are small specialized roots called coralloid root.

If you observe coniferous plants under gymnosperms, you will find a slender, thick, needle-like structure of leaves. There is maybe due to climatic conditions in which they are present.

These leaves are well adapted to all the extreme climatic conditions. Their cuticle becomes thick, and stomata appear sunken decreases water loss during transpiration.

Male and female gametes in gymnosperms can not exist freely and independently. They are transferred in the form of pollen grains via air and get in touch with open ovule and then fertilize in pollen tube detail reproduction we will study in upcoming blogs.

Angiosperms In Kingdom Plantae

Everyone likes flowers, their appearance, fragrance, and looks. Can you imagine why every flower is different in appearance? How some flowers have three petals, five petals, or six petals? Why don’t all trees have flowers? The one answer for all the questions is angiosperms, are flowering plants unlike gymnosperms pollen grains, and ovules are well developed in specialized structure. And that specialized structure is known as FLOWER. The seeds of angiosperms are enclosed in fruits. It includes the smallest Wolffia to tall trees of eucalyptus, which are up to 100 meters long. Angiosperms provide us many commercial products for example paper, wood, fuel, perfumes, dyes, etc. These are divided into two classes namely Monocotyledons and Dicotyledons.

this diagram will provide you the detail information about angiosperms and its classes — **Classes of Angiosperms**

Monocotyledon is a plant with single cotyledonous seeds. For example imagine your palm single palm, which means one cotyledon. In monocotyledon, leaves are seen with parallel venation on them. And flowers are trimerous that contain three members in each floral whorl.

For dicotyledon, in the same way you can imagine both palms facing each other and join as in namaskar position. Join palms mean two cotyledonous seeds are present in dicotyledons. The reticulate means network-like venation is seen on leaves, and leaves are broad in size.

The flowers are tetramerous or pentamerous means four or five members present in each floral whorl. The reproduction occurs through pollen grains stored in the stamen, the male sex organ of a flower.

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