KEY CONCEPT Plants can be classified into nine phyla/divisions.

Land plants are classified by the presence or absence of vascular tissue and how they reproduce (with or without seeds) “Vascular” People: relating to vessels, especially those that carry blood. Plants: relating to plant tissues that conduct water, sap, and nutrients.

Vascular Plants vs. Nonvascular Plants Transport System Leaves True roots Xylem Phloem Stems Can grow tall Live in dry areas No Transport System No roots (rhizoids) Grow close to the ground to absorb water and nutrients Live in moist areas *Complete Venn Diagram in notes

Nonvascular Plants

Mosses and their relatives are seedless nonvascular plants. Liverworts belong to phylum Hepatophyta. often grow on wet rocks or in greenhouses can be thallose or leafy

Mosses belong to phylum Bryophyta. most common seedless nonvascular plants sphagnum moss commonly used by humans as “peat”

Hornworts belong to phylum Anthocerophyta. found in tropical forests and along streams flat, lobed body with little green “horns”

Vascular Plants Seedless vs. w/Seeds

Club mosses and ferns are seedless vascular plants. Club mosses belong to phylum Lycophyta. not true mosses oldest living group of vascular plants

Ferns and their relatives belong to phylum Pterophyta. frond fiddlehead whisk ferns and horsetails are close relatives of ferns ferns have large leaves called fronds

Seed plants include cone-bearing plants and flowering plants. Seed plants have several advantages over their seedless ancestors. can reproduce without free-standing water, via pollination seeds nourish and protect plant embryo seeds allow plants to disperse to new places

Gymnosperms do not have seeds enclosed in fruit. most gymnosperms are cone-bearing. the cone is reproductive structure of most gymnosperms. pollen is produced in male cones. eggs are produced in female cones. seeds develop on scales of female cones.

Cycads are gymnosperms in phylum Cycadophyta. look like palm trees with large cones grow in tropical areas

Ginkgos are gymnosperms in phylum Ginkgophyta. only one species alive today, Ginkgo biloba grown in gardens and used in urban landscaping

Conifers are gymnosperms in phylum Coniferophyta. most common gymnosperms alive today includes pines, spruce, cedar, fir, and juniper

Angiosperms, or flowering plants, belong in phylum Anthophyta. Angiosperms have seeds enclosed in some type of fruit. A flower is the reproductive structure of angiosperms. A fruit is a mature ovary of a flower.

Plant Classification Lab Goal: Identify plants as either vascular or nonvascular based on microscope analysis. This lab does not need to be a formal write up… only include the Title, Goal, and components listed below: Draw image and label transport system components Record slide name and number Record as either vascular or nonvascular