Download Vascular plants

Lesson 24
What are the characteristics of plants?
Plants are pretty to look at. We decorate
our homes with them.
We work hard to grow gardens
And have thick lawns.
Sometimes, we give flowers to our loved
ones.
Plants give us pleasure, but most important:
Without plants, there could be no life
on earth!!
Plants give us oxygen.
They give us our food.
All the food we eat comes from plants,
either directly or indirectly.
Figure these out:
Why wouldn’t we still have cows, pigs and
chickens to eat if there were no plants?
You probably recognize a plant when you
see one. However, as you have already
learned, some algae look like plants. How
can you tell if an organism is a plant or not?
All plants have these characteristics:
- Plants have many cells.
- The cells of plants form tissues and
organs.
- Plant cells are surrounded by a rigid
cell wall, made of cellulose. It gives
plants their stiffness.
- Plants make their own food
Plants make their own food using the
chlorophyll stored in the cell’s chloroplasts.
Most food making takes place in the green
leaves of plants.
The leaves are often called “the plant’s
food factory.
The plant kingdom is divided into two large
groups, called phyla.
Vascular plants:
Belong to the division tracheophyta.
Have stems, roots and leaves.
Have a vascular system (connecting
tubes) which carry water and dissolved
nutrients to all parts of the plants.
Vascular plants are the most complex
plants. Most of the plants you know belong
to this group of plants.
ferns
trees
And other
flowering plants
roses
Nonvascular Plants:
Belong to the division bryophyta.
They are very simple plants.
Do not have true roots, stems, or leaves.
They have no vascular system.
This group includes:
mosses
liverworts
hornwarts
Most plants reproduce by seeds.
All seed plants are vascular plants.
Biologists classify seed plants into two
groups.
gymnosperms
Uncovered seeds.
Most common are evergreens which
produce cones
angiosperms
Are flowering plants.
Most flowering plants are easy to
recognize, like roses and tulips.
Did you know that grasses, oak trees, and
corn are flowering plants?
Their flowers are very small and hard to
see.