Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants is known as botany. As of 2010, botanists have identified more than 315,000 species of plants, of which 281,821 are flowering, 12,000 are ferns and fern allies, and 16,236 are bryophytes (see table below). Green plants, sometimes called Viridiplantae, obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis. This process uses chlorophyll contained in chloroplasts, which gives plants their green color..
Aristotle divided all living things between plants (which generally do not move), and animals (which often are mobile to catch their food). In Linnaeus' system, these became the Kingdoms Vegetabilia (later Metaphyta or Plantae) and Animalia (also called Metazoa). Since then, it has become clear that the Plantae as originally defined included several unrelated groups, and the fungi and several groups of algae were removed to new kingdoms. However, these are still often considered plants in many contexts, both technical and popular.
Outside of formal scientific contexts, the term "plant" implies an association with certain traits, such as multicellularity, cellulose, and photosynthesis. Many of the classification controversies involve organisms that are rarely encountered and are of minimal apparent economic significance, but are crucial in developing an understanding of the evolution of modern flora.
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Aristotle divided all living things between plants (which generally do not move), and animals (which often are mobile to catch their food). In Linnaeus' system, these became the Kingdoms Vegetabilia (later Metaphyta or Plantae) and Animalia (also called Metazoa). Since then, it has become clear that the Plantae as originally defined included several unrelated groups, and the fungi and several groups of algae were removed to new kingdoms. However, these are still often considered plants in many contexts, both technical and popular.
Current definitions of Plantae
When the name Plantae or plant is applied to a specific taxon, it is usually referring to one of three concepts. From least to most inclusive, these three groupings are:| Name(s) | Scope | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Land plants, also known as Embryophyta or Metaphyta. | Plantae sensu strictissimo | This group includes the liverworts, hornworts, mosses, and vascular plants, as well as fossil plants similar to these surviving groups. |
| Green plants - also known as Viridiplantae, Viridiphyta or Chlorobionta | Plantae sensu stricto | Includes the land plants plus Charophyta (i.e. stoneworts), and Chlorophyta (i.e., other green algae such as sea lettuce). Viridiplantae encompass a group of organisms that possess chlorophyll a and b, have plastids that are bound by only two membranes, are capable of storing starch, and have cellulose in their cell walls. It is this clade which is mainly the subject of this article. |
| Archaeplastida, Plastida or Primoplantae | Plantae sensu lato | Comprises the green plants above plus Rhodophyta (red algae) and Glaucophyta (glaucophyte algae). This clade includes the organisms that eons ago acquired their chloroplasts directly by engulfing cyanobacteria. |
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