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Remember, the Plant Kingdom is divided into two groups, simple and
complex plants.
 | Mosses and lichens are simple (nonvascular) plants. |
| Complex (vascular) plants have leaves, stems, and roots with a system of
tubes to transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. |
Complex plants are divided into gymnosperms and angiosperms.
| Gymnosperms ("naked seeds")
include all conifers (pines, firs, spruces, redwoods . . .) and gingko
trees. |
| Angiosperms ("vessel-seeds") include all flowering plants. They produce
a covering (fruit) that protects the seeds. |
Angiosperms are divided by the type of seed into monocots
and dicots.
| Monocots have one cotyledon or food part. Corn is an example. Their
leaves have parallel veins. Their flowers have petals in multiples of
3. |
| Dicots have two cotyledons or food parts. Lima beans are dicots.
Their leaves have a network of veins. Flowers have petals in multiples
of 4 or 5. |
Here's another description of plant
classification.
Interested in leaf classification? Here's a great site.
Want the details of plant
classification done by scientists? This includes many complicated systems.
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