Biology Chapter: Angiosperms and Plant Classification

Angiosperms

• Angiosperms include flowering plants, grasses, and grass-like plants, most broad-leaved trees, shrubs, and vines, and most aquatic plants.
• The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words "angeion" (container, vessel) and "sperma" (seed), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit.
• Angiosperms are the most diverse group of land plants, with 64 orders, 416 families, approximately 13,000 known genera, and 300,000 known species.

Plant Classification

• The classification of living organisms is based on the work of Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist.
• The study of the general principle of classification is known as taxonomy or systematic.
• The hierarchy of living organisms, from highest to lowest, is: Kingdom, Phylum or Division, Class, Order, Genus, and Species.
• The species is the smallest unit of classification, with identical general appearance and ability to produce fertile offspring.

Binomial Nomenclature

• Binomial Nomenclature is the use of a standard system to name living organisms, with each kind of organism given two names: the genus and species.
• The genus name begins with an initial capital letter, and the names are written in italics or underlined separately.

Kingdoms

• The five-kingdom classification, proposed by Whittaker in 1969, is generally used today.
• The five kingdoms are: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia.
• Monera contains prokaryotes, which are simple-celled organisms with no true nuclei.
• The other four kingdoms contain eukaryotes, which have cells with true nuclei.

Kingdom Monera

• Kingdom Monera includes single-celled organisms, motile or non-motile, with simple-celled structure and no definite nucleus.
• Examples of Monera include bacteria, blue-green algae, and actinomycetes.

Kingdom Protista

• Kingdom Protista includes single-celled organisms, motile or non-motile, with complex cell structure and a definite nucleus.
• Examples of Protista include Chlamydomonas and Amoeba.

Kingdom Fungi

• Kingdom Fungi includes non-motile organisms, usually of thread-like structure or hyphae, that obtain food through absorption from living or non-living organisms.
• Examples of Fungi include moulds, mushrooms, slime moulds, and yeasts.

Kingdom Plantae

• Kingdom Plantae includes many-celled, non-motile organisms that contain chlorophyll and make their own food through photosynthesis.
• Examples of Plantae include mosses, ferns, pines, and seed plants (such as yam, bean, and plants).

Roots and Stems

• Monocotyledonous roots have a similar anatomy to dicot roots, but with more than six xylem bundles and a larger, well-developed pith.
• Monocotyledonous roots do not undergo secondary growth.
• Dicotyledonous stems have an epidermis, cortex, endodermis, pericycle, vascular bundles, and pith.

Algae

• Algae show great diversity in size and structure, and are unicellular, colonial, filamentous, and thalloid in form.
• Spirogyra is an example of algae, with a characteristic structure and ecological adaptations.

Learn about angiosperms, flowering plants, and their classification. Understand the diversity of land plants and their characteristics.