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Plant World

Plant Diversity

What are the four major groups of plants?

They are: nonvascular; seedless vascular; flowering, seed-bearing vascular; and nonflowering, seed-bearing vascular. Plants are divided into phyla based on whether they are vascular (containing vascular tissue consisting of cells joined into tubes that transport water and nutrients) or nonvascular. The phyla of vascular plants are then further divided into seedless plants and those that contain seeds. Plants with seeds are divided into flowering and nonflowering groups. Nonvascular plants have traditionally been called bryophytes. Because bryophytes lack a system for conducting water and nutrients, they are restricted in size and live in moist areas close to the ground. Examples of bryophytes are mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Examples of seedless, vascular plants are ferns, horsetails, and club mosses. The conifers, which are cone-bearing, are seed-bearing, nonflowering vascular plants. The majority of plants are seed-bearing, flowering, vascular plants known as angiosperms.



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