Plantae
Domain: Eukarya
Description: Organisms of the Kingdom Plantae are multicellular and photoautotrophic. They lack motility and derive their energy from the shoot and root systems. From the roots, plants can take in water and minerals which travel through a non-living system called the xylem. In the leaves, plants produce sugars from the chloroplasts which run through the phloem, which is composed of living cells. Both the xylem and phloem are considered vascular tissue while the outside of a plant is called dermal tissue. The remaining tissue is referred to as ground tissue. Plants continuously grow throughout their lives from undifferentiated cells called the meristems. The meristems divide and elongate, leading to new growth. Plants can reproduce sexually or asexually. Divergent Event: Plants are thought to have arisen from an ancestral photosynthetic eukaryote. This ancestral organism came to be when an ancestral prokaryote engulfed an aerobic heterotrophic eukaryote and a photosynthetic prokaryote. |
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These organisms were not digested, but formed a symbiotic relationship with their consumer. The former would become the mitochondrion while the latter would serve as the plastid, specifically the chloroplast. Scientists believe green algae to be the ancestor of modern plants, with charophytes being the closest relatives to plants.
Body Plan: Plants are multicellular. Their above ground presence can be thought of as the shoot system while below ground is their root system. Their root system consists of roots which branch out, searching for water and minerals. The shoot system consists of the stem which serves to provide height and a place for leaves to branch out, in search of sunlight and carbon dioxide. Plants have vascular tissue, the xylem and phloem, which transport materials necessary for survival. The dermal tissue serves as a skin while the ground tissue is the remainder, containing important structures like chloroplasts.
Metabolism: Being photoautotrophic means plants make their own organic compounds while using light as an energy source. The light from the sun and carbon dioxide from the environment allows the chloroplast in the leaves to form sugars. The sugars are stored in the sinks or used in cellular respiration by the mitochondria. Water and minerals are taken in from the roots, which are used to power photosynthesis and other important processes of the plant’s metabolism.
Digestion: Plants have no digestive system but perform some intracellular digestive features, like coordinating the utilization of nutrients with their production. Some plants have extracellular digestion, like the Venus fly trap which dissolves insects in enzymes. The Venus fly trap then absorbs the nutrients. However, the Venus fly trap still performs photosynthesis, it simply digests insects as a nitrate source.
Nervous: Plants have no nervous system. They are still able to respond to stimuli from their environment, using hormones and various chemicals as a means for cellular communication.
Circulatory: Vascular plants have a closed circulatory system of two primary routes, the xylem and phloem. The xylem transports water and soluble minerals upwards. The phloem transports sugars from the sites of photosynthesis to the roots for storage or to sites of growth. The xylem consists of vessels and tracheids, both of which are dead cells. Both structures are strengthened with lignin and have pits or perforations for water movement. The phloem has chains of cells called sieve-tube elements. They are alive, but empty of major organelles, allowing the easy transport of sugars.
Respiratory: Plants do not have respiratory organs, instead gases diffuse into plants via the stomata. Carbon dioxide is taken in by the open stomata to be used for photosynthesis. Likewise, the roots take in oxygen while releasing carbon dioxide for cellular respiration.
Reproductive: Plants reproduce sexually and asexually. Sexual reproduction includes the alternation of generations, in which haploid gametophyte and diploid sporophyte forms both appear. The mature gametophyte produces gametes by mitosis. Two gametes (One from another organism) fuse to form a zygote. This will develop into a diploid sporophyte. Asexual reproduction can also occur, an example being self-pollination.
Click on the following link to learn about the phyla within Plantae:
Body Plan: Plants are multicellular. Their above ground presence can be thought of as the shoot system while below ground is their root system. Their root system consists of roots which branch out, searching for water and minerals. The shoot system consists of the stem which serves to provide height and a place for leaves to branch out, in search of sunlight and carbon dioxide. Plants have vascular tissue, the xylem and phloem, which transport materials necessary for survival. The dermal tissue serves as a skin while the ground tissue is the remainder, containing important structures like chloroplasts.
Metabolism: Being photoautotrophic means plants make their own organic compounds while using light as an energy source. The light from the sun and carbon dioxide from the environment allows the chloroplast in the leaves to form sugars. The sugars are stored in the sinks or used in cellular respiration by the mitochondria. Water and minerals are taken in from the roots, which are used to power photosynthesis and other important processes of the plant’s metabolism.
Digestion: Plants have no digestive system but perform some intracellular digestive features, like coordinating the utilization of nutrients with their production. Some plants have extracellular digestion, like the Venus fly trap which dissolves insects in enzymes. The Venus fly trap then absorbs the nutrients. However, the Venus fly trap still performs photosynthesis, it simply digests insects as a nitrate source.
Nervous: Plants have no nervous system. They are still able to respond to stimuli from their environment, using hormones and various chemicals as a means for cellular communication.
Circulatory: Vascular plants have a closed circulatory system of two primary routes, the xylem and phloem. The xylem transports water and soluble minerals upwards. The phloem transports sugars from the sites of photosynthesis to the roots for storage or to sites of growth. The xylem consists of vessels and tracheids, both of which are dead cells. Both structures are strengthened with lignin and have pits or perforations for water movement. The phloem has chains of cells called sieve-tube elements. They are alive, but empty of major organelles, allowing the easy transport of sugars.
Respiratory: Plants do not have respiratory organs, instead gases diffuse into plants via the stomata. Carbon dioxide is taken in by the open stomata to be used for photosynthesis. Likewise, the roots take in oxygen while releasing carbon dioxide for cellular respiration.
Reproductive: Plants reproduce sexually and asexually. Sexual reproduction includes the alternation of generations, in which haploid gametophyte and diploid sporophyte forms both appear. The mature gametophyte produces gametes by mitosis. Two gametes (One from another organism) fuse to form a zygote. This will develop into a diploid sporophyte. Asexual reproduction can also occur, an example being self-pollination.
Click on the following link to learn about the phyla within Plantae: