Vascular Plants Fossil range: Early Silurian - Recent
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Divisions
Non-seed-bearing plants †Rhyniophyta †Zosterophyllophyta Lycopodiophyta †Trimerophytophyta Pteridophyta Superdivision Spermatophyta †Pteridospermatophyta Pinophyta Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta

Vascular plants (also known as tracheophytes or higher plants) are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. The Silurian is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Ordovician period about 443 Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Rhyniophyta is a division of early Vascular plants including the class Rhyniopsida. The Zosterophyllaceae or Zosterophylls (class Zosterophyllopsida) were probably Stem-group Lycophytes forming a sister group to the ancestors The Division Lycopodiophyta (sometimes called Lycophyta) is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae It is the oldest extant (living A division of early land plant from the Devonian containing genera such as Psilophyton. A fern is any one of a group of about 20000 Species of Plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta The spermatophytes (from the Greek word "Σπερματόφυτα" (also known as phanerogams) comprise those Plants that produce Seeds They are Pteridospermatophyta, also called seed ferns, is an extinct Spermatophyte group of the Plantae kingdom. Cycads are a group of Seed plants characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. The Ginkgoaceae is a family of Gymnosperms which appeared during the Mesozoic Era of which the only extant representative is Ginkgo biloba The Plant division Gnetophyta or gnetophytes comprise three related families of Woody plants grouped in the Gymnosperms The gnetophytes differ from The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Lignin or lignen is a complex Chemical compound most commonly derived from Wood and an integral part of the secondary Cell walls of Plants Tissue is a cellular organizational level intermediate between cells and a complete organism Vascular plants include the ferns, clubmosses, flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms. A fern is any one of a group of about 20000 Species of Plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta Lycopodiopsida is a class of plants often loosely grouped as the fern allies, and includes the clubmosses The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Gymnosperm (Gymnospermae are a group of Spermatophyte seed-bearing Plants with Ovules on the edge or blade of an open Sporophyll, which are Scientific names for the group include Tracheophyta ^[1]and Tracheobionta^[2], but neither name is very widely used.

Characteristics

Vascular plants are distinguished by two primary characteristics:

1. Vascular plants have vascular tissues, which circulate resources through the plant. This is an article about vascular tissue in plants For transport in animals see Circulatory system. This feature allows vascular plants to evolve to a larger size than non-vascular plants, which lack these specialized conducting tissues and are therefore restricted to relatively small sizes.
2. In vascular plants, the principal generation phase is the sporophyte, which is usually diploid with two sets of chromosomes per cell. The Alternation of phases (or generations) describes the life cycle of Plants Fungi and Protists A multicellular Diploid phase alternates All land plants and some Algae, have life cycles in which a haploid Gametophyte generation alternates with a Diploid sporophyte, the generation of a "Haplo" redirects here For the fictional character see The Death Gate Cycle. By contrast, the principal generation phase in non-vascular plants is usually the gametophyte, which is haploid with one set of chromosomes per cell. In Plants and Algae that undergo Alternation of generations, a gametophyte is the multicellular structure or phase that is Haploid, containing "Haplo" redirects here For the fictional character see The Death Gate Cycle.

Water transport happens in either xylem or phloem: xylem carries water and inorganic solutes upward toward the leaves from the roots, while phloem carries organic solutes throughout the plant. In Vascular plants xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue Phloem being the other In Vascular plants phloem is the living tissue that carries organic Nutrients (known as photosynthate particularly Sucrose, a sugar to Group of plants having lignified conducting tissue (xylem vessels or tracheids).

Phylogeny

A proposed phylogeny of the vascular plants after Kenrick and Crane^[3] is as follows, with modification to the Pteridophyta from Smith et al. ^[4]

Nutrient distribution

Photographs showing xylem elements in the shoot of a fig tree (Ficus alba): crushed in hydrochloric acid, between slides and cover slips. The spermatophytes (from the Greek word "Σπερματόφυτα" (also known as phanerogams) comprise those Plants that produce Seeds They are Pteridospermatophyta, also called seed ferns, is an extinct Spermatophyte group of the Plantae kingdom. Cycads are a group of Seed plants characterized by a large crown of compound leaves and a stout trunk. The Ginkgoaceae is a family of Gymnosperms which appeared during the Mesozoic Era of which the only extant representative is Ginkgo biloba The Plant division Gnetophyta or gnetophytes comprise three related families of Woody plants grouped in the Gymnosperms The gnetophytes differ from The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group A fern is any one of a group of about 20000 Species of Plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta The Pteridopsida is a class of Plants in the Division Pteridophyta that includes all the Leptosporangiate ferns In the recent 2006 classification by Class Marattiopsida is a group of Ferns containing a single order Marattiales, and family Marattiaceae. Equisetopsida, or Sphenopsida, is a class of Plants with a fossil record going back to the Devonian. Psilotopsida is a class of Fern -like plants As circumscribed by Smith et al The cladoxylopsids are a group of Plants known only as Fossils that are thought to be ancestors of Ferns and Horsetails They had a central trunk The Division Lycopodiophyta (sometimes called Lycophyta) is a tracheophyte subdivision of the Kingdom Plantae It is the oldest extant (living The Zosterophyllaceae or Zosterophylls (class Zosterophyllopsida) were probably Stem-group Lycophytes forming a sister group to the ancestors Rhyniophyta is a division of early Vascular plants including the class Rhyniopsida. Aglaophyton major was the Sporophyte generation of Diplohaplontic, pre-vascular axial free-sporing land plant of the Lower Devonian that Horneophytopsida is a class of early Vascular plants including the genera Caia, Tortilicaulis, and Horneophyton In Vascular plants xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue Phloem being the other Ficus is a Genus of about 850 Species of woody Trees Shrubs Vines Epiphytes and hemi-epiphytes in the family Hydrochloric acid is the Solution of Hydrogen chloride ( H[[Chlorine Cl]] in water

Nutrients and water from the soil and the organic compound produces in leaves are distributed to specific areas in the plant through the xylem and phloem. A nutrient is food or chemicals that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment In Vascular plants xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue Phloem being the other In Vascular plants phloem is the living tissue that carries organic Nutrients (known as photosynthate particularly Sucrose, a sugar to The xylem draws water and nutrients up from the roots to the upper sections of the plant's body, and the phloem conducts other materials, such as the glucose produced during photosynthesis, which gives the plant energy to keep growing and seeding. Glucose (Glc a Monosaccharide (or simple Sugar) also known as grape sugar, is an important Carbohydrate in Biology. Photosynthesis is a Metabolic pathway that converts Light Energy into Chemical energy.

The xylem consists of tracheids, which are dead hard-walled cells arranged to form tiny tubes to function in water transport. Tracheids are elongated cells in the Xylem of Vascular plants serving in the transport of water and mineral salts A tracheid cell wall usually contains the polymer lignin. Lignin or lignen is a complex Chemical compound most commonly derived from Wood and an integral part of the secondary Cell walls of Plants The phloem however consists of living cells called sieve-tube members. Between the sieve-tube members are sieve plates, which have pores to allow molecules to pass through. Sieve-tube members lack such organs as nuclei or ribosomes, but cells next to them, the companion cells, function to keep the sieve-tube members alive.

Movement of nutrients, water, sugars and waste is effected by transpiration, conduction and absorption.

Transpiration

The most abundant compound in most plants is water, serving a large role in the various processes taking place. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. Transpiration is the main process a plant can call upon to move compounds within its tissues. Transpiration is the Evaporation of water from the aerial parts of Plants especially leaves but also stems Flowers and Roots The basic minerals and nutrients a plant is composed of remain, generally, within the plant. Water, however, is constantly being lost from the plant through its metabolic and photosynthetic processes to the atmosphere. Metabolism is the set of Chemical reactions that occur in living Organisms in order to maintain Life. Photosynthesis is a Metabolic pathway that converts Light Energy into Chemical energy.

Water is transpired from the plants leaves via stomata, carried there via leaf veins and vascular bundles within the plants cambium layer. In Botany, a stoma (also stomate; plural stomata) is a tiny opening or pore found mostly on the underside of a Plant Leaf In the Circulatory system, a vein is a Blood vessel that carries Blood back toward the Heart (as opposed to Artery, a blood vessel The movement of water out of the leaf stomata creates, when the leaves are considered collectively, a transpiration pull. The pull is created through water surface tension within the plant cells. For the work of fiction see Surface Tension (short story. Surface tension is a property of the surface of a Liquid that causes it to The draw of water upwards is assisted by the movement of water into the roots via osmosis. Osmosis is the Diffusion of a solvent (frequently water through a semi-permeable membrane, from a solution of low solute concentration (high water potential This process also assists the plant in absorbing nutrients from the soil as soluble salts, a process known as absorption. A salt, in Chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of Acids and bases.

Absorption

Xylem cells move water and nutrient solutions upwards towards other plant organs from the roots and fine root hairs. In Vascular plants xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue Phloem being the other In Biology, an organ ( Latin: organum, "instrument tool" from Greek όργανον - organon "organ instrument ROOT is an object-oriented program and library developed by CERN. Living roots cells actively absorb water in the absence of transpiration pull via osmosis creating root pressure. There are times when plants do not have transpiration pull, usually due to lack of light or other environmental elements. Water in the plant tissues may move to the roots to assist in passive absorption.

Conduction

Xylem and phloem tissues are involved in the conduction processes within plants. In Vascular plants xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue Phloem being the other In Vascular plants phloem is the living tissue that carries organic Nutrients (known as photosynthate particularly Sucrose, a sugar to The movement of foods throughout the plant takes place mainly in the phloem. Plant conduction (food movement) is from an area of high food content, place of manufacture (photosynthesis) or storage, to a place of food utilisation, or from a point of manufacture to storage tissues. Photosynthesis is a Metabolic pathway that converts Light Energy into Chemical energy. Mineral salts are translocated in the xylem tissues. ^[5]

See also

• Fern allies
• Non-vascular plant

References