Vascular plant

Vascular Plants
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: Tracheobionta
Divisions
Non-seed-bearing plants Equisetophyta Lycophyta Psilophyta Pterophyta Superdivision Spermatophyta Coniferophyta Cycadophyta Ginkgophyta Gnetophyta Magnoliophyta

Tracheobionta are plants that have sap vessels. They include flowering plants, conifers, and ferns, but not mosses.

All plants may be roughly divided into two general groups, vascular and nonvascular plants. Vascular plants include those that we consider to be "higher" plants.

These plants are differentiated from the "lower" plants such as the mosses, liverworts, hornworts and green algae in two particularly important ways:

1. Vascular plants have water-carrying structures, termed tracheids, in their tissues, enabling the plants to evolve larger and more elaborate structures, while non-vascular plants lack these.
2. In vascular plants, the principal generation phase is the sporophyte, which is diploid with two sets of chromosomes per cell. In non-vascular plants, the principal generation phase is often the gametophyte, which is haploid with one set of chromosomes per cell. See also alternation of generations.

Vascular plants used to be grouped in the division Tracheophyta. While definitely a monophyletic group, tracheophytes just aren't closely related enough to warrant a single division for all of them.

Reference

• USDA classification as of 2002-06-05

Divisions

• • Equisetophyta
  • Lycophyta
  • lycopods (clubmosses, spikemosses, quillworts)
  • Psilophyta
  • Pterophyta
• Superdivision Spermatophyta
  • Pinophyta
  • Cycadophyta
  • Ginkgophyta
  • Gnetophyta
  • Magnoliophyta, flowering plants

Not classified into above classification:

• horsetails
• whiskbrooms
• ophioglossoids (adders-tongues, grape-ferns)
• ferns
• gymnosperms (conifers and allies)