Scientific Classification

• The ginko tree is so unique that it belongs to its own phylum.Ginko Tree image by Microdac from Fotolia.com
  
  Plants belong to the Plantae kingdom. This widely diverse kingdom includes over 250,000 species of plants. There are twelve divisions, or phylum, in the Plantae kingdom and include the following types of plants: flowering plants, conifers, ferns, horsetails, whisk ferns, cycads, ginkos, mosses and gymnosperms. Plants are classified into their phylum on characteristics such as reproduction, tissue structure, seed structure and stature. The classification further breaks plants down to class, family, genus and species. Commonly, plants are often categorized into vascular and non-vascular, meaning those that have a basic circulatory system and those that do not.
  
  

Photosynthesis and Cell Structure

• The striking green color of plants is the direct result of a pigment called chlorophyll. Chlorophyll captures sunlight that fuels the manufacture of food. All plants are composed of specialized cells that photosynthesize captured sunlight to produce energy. The cellular structure of plants includes chloroplast which is responsible for photosynthesis, converting light energy and carbon dioxide into chemical energy. Other cellular organisms, like the mitochondria, work to break down sugars and other nutrients when light energy is not available.
  
  

Features

• All plants are composed of a similar structure that includes roots, stems and some form of leaves. More complicated plants like trees and flowering types have a more complex structure that includes flowers, seeds and fruit. Each part of the plant serves a purpose in supporting life. Roots grow out of the bottom of the plant and into the soil. Tiny hairs that cover the roots absorb nutrients and moisture from the soil and help fasten the plant to the ground. Leaves provide most of the plant's food by absorbing sunlight which is photosynthesized into energy. Stems function as a support and supplies nutrients through the plant. Flowers are the plants reproductive parts, containing pollen and eggs called ovules. Pollinated flowers will often produce seeds or fruit.
  
  

Reproduction

• Different phylum of plants reproduce differently. Flowering plants use pollen and ovules, or eggs, to spread. Mixing with other flowers of the same species, these plants are able to maintain genetic diversity need for survival. Once the flower is pollinated and the ovule is fertilized, the flower will develop into a fruit or seed, depending on the species. Contact with insects like bees and dispersal by the wind is a popular pollination method. Most plants use some form of pollination to reproduce. Plants that do not use pollination for reproduction use spores, asexual method of reproduction involving a formation of spores on the underside of the leaf. The plants produced are an exact replica of the mother and are often referred to as clones.
  
  

Habitat

• Cacti are plants that addapted to life in arid, dry climates.desert image by Josef F Stuefer from Fotolia.com
  
  Plants inhabit almost every part of the planet. The few places that have no plant life are the depths of the ocean, the extreme arid desserts, and the arctic circle. Plants are cable of surviving in almost any condition and climate. The varieties of species allows for plant habitats such as lakes and oceans, deserts, tundras, deciduous, temperate and tropical forests and taiga.