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BIOLOGY · Stage 7 · Chapter 1: Classification and Life

Biology 1.7 Classifying plants

5 min read 6 parts Lesson 7 of 11

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Biology 1.7 Classifying plants — Alhussan International Academy — Biology (Stages 7–9) notes: Describe the main groups of plants and classify a plant using its features.Plants — living things that make their own food by photosynthesis, so the food you eat and the oxygen you breat…

  • Two big groups
  • Most species
  • Non-flowering plants
  • Liverworts and mosses
  • Seed plants
  • Two main types

Section 1 of 6Plants and their groups

  • Plants
    • living things that make their own food by photosynthesis, so the food you eat and the oxygen you breathe depend on them.
    • Almost all plants have green parts where they make food, with chlorophyll to trap light.
  • Two big groups
    • just as animals are invertebrates and vertebrates, plants are seed plants and non-flowering plants.
  • Clues
    • even plants that reproduce with flowers do not have flowers all the time, so biologists look for other clues.
  • Most species
    • most plant species are flowering plants.

Section 2 of 6Non-flowering plants

1Non-flowering plants2 points
  • the oldest types of plants, on Earth for millions of years, usually small and found in damp, shady places.
  • They do not produce flowers, and reproduce using spores that grow into new plants.
2Liverworts and mosses4 points
  • they take all the water they need from their environment without roots.
  • They have no true roots, stems or leaves with veins, and no water-carrying vessels.
  • They are always relatively small and are anchored by hair-like rhizoids.
  • They reproduce using spores and make no flowers.
3Ferns3 points
  • usually bigger than mosses and liverworts and more like flowering plants.
  • They have roots, stems and fronds that look like leaves, with water-carrying vessels.
  • They reproduce using spores which develop under the fronds.

Section 3 of 6Seed plants

  • Seed plants
    • they reproduce by making seeds and have roots, stems and leaves with specialised water transport vessels.
  • Two main types
    • conifers and true flowering plants.

Section 4 of 6Conifers

  • Conifers (gymnosperms)
    • they can grow in very harsh conditions and, in good conditions, the tallest plants in the world are conifers.
    • They have narrow, needle-like leaves, which cut water loss.
    • They have simple reproductive structures, and the seeds are naked, found loose in cones.
    • Most are evergreen trees, such as pine and fir.

Section 5 of 6Flowering plants

  • Flowering plants (angiosperms)
    • they produce flowers and seeds, which are contained in fruits.
    • Flowers are pollinated by wind or by animals such as insects, birds and bats.
    • Not all have bright flowers, as grasses and cereals such as rice and maize have small, dull flowers.
    • Much food comes from flowering plants, from flour for bread to fruit and vegetables.
  • Seed leaves
    • monocotyledons have one seed leaf and parallel leaf veins, as in grass, and dicotyledons have two seed leaves and branching veins, as in a rose.

Section 6 of 6Choosing the group

  1. Does it make flowers and fruits? If yes, it is a flowering plant.
  2. Does it make seeds in cones? If yes, it is a conifer.
  3. Does it have fronds and true roots, with spores under the fronds? If yes, it is a fern.
  4. Is it small and flat with no roots, in a damp place? If yes, it is a moss or liverwort.
  • Spores and seeds
    • mosses and ferns scatter huge numbers of light spores in the wind,
    • while flowering plants use animals, wind and water to carry fruits and seeds,
    • so they colonise many habitats.
  • Uses
    • farmers rely on flowering plants such as wheat and rice for food, and foresters plant conifers for timber.

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