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Any organism in the kingdom Plantae. The plant kingdom consists of multicellular eukaryotic life-forms ( eukaryote) with six fundamental characteristics: photosynthesis as the almost exclusive mode of nutrition, essentially unlimited growth at meristems, cells that contain cellulose in their walls and are therefore somewhat rigid, the absence of organs of movement, the absence of sensory and nervous systems, and life histories that show alternation of generations. No definition of the kingdom completely excludes all nonplant organisms or even includes all plants. Many plants, for example, are not green and thus do not produce their own food by photosynthesis, being instead parasitic on other living plants ( parasitism). Others obtain their food from dead organic matter. Many animals possess plantlike characteristics, such as a lack of mobility (e.g., sponges) or the presence of a plantlike growth form (e.g., some corals and bryozoans), but in general such animals lack other plant characteristics. Some past classification systems ( taxonomy) placed difficult groups such as protozoans, bacteria, algae, slime molds, and fungi ( fungus) in the plant kingdom, but structural and functional differences between these organisms and plants have convinced most scientists to classify them elsewhere.

For more information on plant, visit Britannica.com.

An organism that belongs to the Kingdom Plantae (plant kingdom) in biological classification. The study of plants is called botany. See also Botany; Classification, biological.

The Plantae share the characteristics of multicellularity, cellulose cell walls, and photosynthesis using chlorophylls a and b (except for a few plants that are secondarily heterotrophic). Most plants are also structurally differentiated, usually having organs specialized for anchorage, support, and photosynthesis. Tissue specialization for photosynthetic, conducting, and covering functions is also characteristic. Plants have a sporic (rather than gametic or zygotic) life cycle that involves both sporophytic and gametophytic phases, although the latter is evolutionarily reduced in the majority of species. Reproduction is sexual, but diversification of breeding systems is a prominent feature of many plant groups. See also Photosynthesis; Reproduction (plant).

A conservative estimate of the number of described species of plants is 250,000. There are possibly two or three times that many species as yet undiscovered, primarily in the Southern Hemisphere. Plants are categorized into nonvascular and vascular groups, and the latter into seedless vascular plants and seed plants. The nonvascular plants include the liverworts, hornworts, and mosses. The vascular plants without seeds are the ground pines, horsetails, ferns, and whisk ferns; seed plants include cycads, ginkgos, conifers, gnetophytes, and flowering plants. Each of these groups constitutes a division in botanical nomenclature, which is equivalent to a phylum in the zoological system. See also Plant taxonomy.

noun

A building or complex in which an industry is located: factory, mill, work (used in plural). See make/unmake, place.

verb

1. To put (seeds) into the ground for growth: seed, sow. See start/end.
2. To put or keep out of sight: bury, cache, conceal, ensconce, hide¹, occult, secrete. Slang stash. See show/hide.

Definition: member of vegetable, flower kingdom
Antonyms: animal

v

Definition: establish, set
Antonyms: disestablish, disorder, disorganize, unsettle, upset

v

Definition: put in the ground for growing
Antonyms: harvest, reap

Given below in alphabetical order are the plants mentioned in the Bible. It is to be noted that translators differ as to the precise identification of some of them.

Acacia Called shittah in Hebrew, the word given as acacia in the English Bible is identified with several species of this tree growing in Palestine. The most common species found today in the Sinai Peninsula is a thorny tree with yellow flowers. Its trunk is generally thin and this makes it difficult to identify it with the acacia of the Bible from which the wide boards of the tabernacle were made (Ex 26:16).

The acacia tree and its wood are mentioned almost exclusively in connection with the ark of the testimony, the altar and the tabernacle built by the Children of Israel (Ex 25:10, 13; 26:15; 36:20; 38:1, 6 etc.).

Several biblical place-names reflect the Hebrew name of the tree e.g., Abel Shittim, Beth Shittah and Beth Shittim, probably areas where the acacia was especially abundant. According to Isaiah 41:19 the acacia growing in the wilderness is part of God's promise to the Israelites.

Almond A tree common to the Near East, growing wild or cultivated in most Mediterranean countries. Its pink-white flowers, arranged in pairs, appear before the leaves, as early as January or the beginning of February. The almond fruit has an oblong shape, rounded at one end and pointed at the other, and has always been considered a delicacy. The kernel produces oil.

When Joseph's brothers returned to Egypt with Benjamin, their father Jacob included almonds among the gifts he sent with them (Gen 43:11). The cup of the branches of the gold lampstand of the tabernacle was designed like almond blossoms (Ex 25:33-34; 37:19-20). Aaron's rod was an almond-tree branch which miraculously blossomed overnight to yield ripe almonds (Num 17:23). In Ecclesiastes, the white head of old men is compared to the blossoming almond tree (Ecc 12:5).

Almug A special kind of wood supplied to Solomon by Hiram of Tyre for the construction of the Temple. It was also used to make musical instruments (I Kgs 10:11-12). The almug wood imported from Ophir, has generally been thought to refer to sandalwood.

Aloes See Spices and Perfumes

Anise A plant of the parsley family which is cultivated for its seedlike fruits. Anise is mentioned in Matthew 23:23 as one of the plants for which the Pharisees were very punctilious in paying tithes while they failed, however, to observe moral values. Many scholars believe that anise here refers to dill.

Apple The apple mentioned in the Bible has not been identified with certainty. The apple tree is described as a shady tree bearing fruit sweet to the taste; it is referred to poetically for its fragrance and beauty (Prov 25:11; Song 2:3, 5; 7:8; 8:5). In art and in later literature, the tree of knowledge in Genesis was interpreted as referring to the apple tree, but it is not identified as such in the Bible.

Balm See Spices and Perfumes

Balsam See Spices and Perfumes

Barley An annual grain closely related to wheat and a most important source of food for man and beast. It was sown in outlying saline lands where wheat could not be cultivated. Barley is mentioned together with wheat and other field crops, among which it occupies a prominent place (Deut 8:8; Is 28:25; Ezek 4:9; Joel 1:11, etc.). Listed among the seven kinds of agricultural produce with which Israel was blessed (Deut 8:8), barley was one of the country's exports (II Chr 2:15); it also served as a cereal offering (Num 5:15; Ezek 45:13).

Barley ripens early (Ex 9:31) and its harvest begins in the month of Nisan (March-April), the omer ("sheaf") firstfruit offering being taken from the barley field on the day following the first Sabbath after Passover (Lev 23:9 ff). In Ruth 1:22 and II Samuel 21:9, the barley harvest serves as an agricultural time marker, as in the Gezer calendar.

Bread made from barley, poorer in quality and taste than wheat, was considered poor man's bread, and II Kings 7:1, 16, 18 puts its price at half that of wheat (cf Rev 6:6). Barley was used as fodder (I Kgs 4:28). Several of these OT characteristics of barley are recalled in John 6:1-14 where five barley loaves and two fish fed the 5,000.

Beans A nutritious food grown in pods from a leguminous plant. Beans are mentioned twice in the Bible: along with other foods they were brought to David at Mahanaim during Absalom's revolt (II Sam 17:28), while in Ezekiel's portrayal of the siege of Jerusalem, beans are used as an ingredient for bread.

Bitter Herbs Bitter herbs were eaten along with the paschal lamb prior to the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt (Ex 12:8; Num 9:11). In later rabbinic literature they were interpreted as a symbolic reminder of the bitter times that the Israelites had during their long period of bondage and slavery. The Hebrew noun most probably refers to a variety of different herbs.

Briar, Brier, Bramble Any of several wild prickly plants. A number of different Hebrew words are variously translated as briar, thorn and bramble since the plants they refer to have not been identified exactly. The briar symbolizes that which is worthless or evil (Mic 7:4), and is used figuratively of the enemies of Israel (Ezek 28:24) and the land (Is 5:6; 7:23-25; 55:13).

Broom A shrub which grows in the desert. Elijah sheltered in its shade (I Kgs 19:4-5). The broom's roots and foliage were employed for fuel (Ps 120:4) and food (Job 30:4). Some translations render "juniper" rather than broom.

Bulrush Common name for several kinds of tall grass growing by the water, used to translate two different Hebrew words and sometimes given as "reed". In at least one instance (the story of the infant Moses, Exodus 2:3), it has been suggested that it refers to the cyprus papyrus, the celebrated papyrus tree of Egypt, now almost extinct.

Calamus See Spices and perfumes

Cane See Spices and perfumes

Carob See Pods below

Cassia See Spices and perfumes

Cedar Tree of the pine family indigenous to Lebanon. The cedar tree is mentioned some 75 times in the OT. It was used in various religious ceremonies together with hyssop and scarlet (for the cleansing of lepers and their houses Lev 14:4, 6, 49, 51-52; and for the laws of purification Num 19:6). Cedar wood was imported to build Solomon's Temple (I Kgs 5:6; 6:9, 15-16, 18, 20, 36), being used in the supporting pillars and beams (I Kgs 7:2) and paneling (I Kgs 6:9, 15) and was "carved with ornamental buds and open flowers" (I Kgs 6:18). One of Solomon's buildings was called the House of the Forest of Lebanon because of its three rows of 15 cedar pillars (I Kgs 7:2-5).

Cedars were a symbol of strength and beauty and as such are used to demonstrate the power of the Lord: "The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, yes the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon" (Ps 29:5; cf Is 2:13; Zech 11:1).

Chestnut A tree mentioned twice in the OT – first in the episode of Jacob and the spotted sheep (Gen 30:25-43) and then in Ezekiel, where the "chestnut trees" are compared to the greatness of Assyria (Ezek 31:3-8). Many scholars believe both references denote the plane tree, since chestnut trees are not indigenous to the area.

CINNAMON See SPICES AND PERFUMES

CITRON WOOD One of the items mentioned in the prophecy of the fall of Babylon in Revelation 18:12; it was highly valued in biblical times for cabinet making.

CORIANDER A plant of the umbelliferous family, yielding small, globular seeds with an aromatic flavor. It is mentioned twice in the OT, in both cases to describe manna.

CUCUMBER This very common vegetable is mentioned twice in the scriptures. while roaming the wilderness of Sinai, the Children of Israel recalled Egypt and the melons, leeks, onions, garlic and cucumbers they had eaten there (Num 11:5). In Isaiah's vision of a desolate Jerusalem he compares the city to a hut in a cucumber field (Is 1:8).

CUMIN, CUMMIN A caraway-like seed, commonly cultivated and used as spice and medicine. It is only mentioned once in the OT, when the prophet Isaiah, expounding on the teaching of the Lord, gives a detailed description of the planting and threshing of the cumin (Is 28:25, 27). In the NT, Matthew refers to it in his condemnation of the Pharisees "who pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law" (Matt 23:23).

Cypress Several different Hebrew words are rendered as cypress in the NKJV (RSV: "pine"); an evergreen coniferous tree with dark overlapping leaves. Hiram king of Tyre sent King Solomon cypress logs for the Temple (I Kgs 5:8, 10; 6:15, 34; II Chr 3:5). Isaiah prophesied that God would cut down the cedars of Lebanon in order to punish Sennacherib king of Assyria (II Kgs 19:23), and Babylon (Is 14:8). He reassured the Israelites of God's promise to protect the Children of Israel: the cypress tree will grow in the desert (Is 41:19) and "instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree" (Is 55:13; cf 60:13).

Dill See Anise above

Fig A fruit-bearing tree indigenous to Palestine. It was the first tree referred to in the OT: "Then the eyes of both of them [Adam and Eve] were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings" (Gen 3:7). It is listed among the seven species with which the land of Canaan was blessed (Deut 8:8). Figs were used to make cakes (I Sam 25:18) and had curative properties: a poultice of figs was used to relieve King Hezekiah's sores (Is 38:21). It was also a symbol of peace and prosperity (I Kgs 4:25; II Kgs 18:31; Is 36:16; Joel 2:22; Mic 4:4; Hag 2:19; Zech 3:10), as well as fertility and as such was used by Jesus in one of his parables (Luke 13:6-9). It appears in Jotham's fable of the trees (Judg 9:7-15) in Jeremiah's parable about the exiles (Jer chap. 24) and in the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree (Matt 21:18-22; Mark 11:13-14, 20-24).

Flax The oldest textile plant of the Near East, flax and its products were of great importance to the ancient world. The earliest biblical references are to the Egyptian crop that was destroyed by the plague of hail (Ex 9:31), and the drying stalks that provided a protective covering for the two spies on Rahab's Jericho rooftop (Josh 2:6). The combed fibers were used for lamp wicks (Is 42:3; 43:17), ropes (Ezek 40:3) and woven linen (Jer 13:1; Ezek 44:17-18; Prov 31:13). One of the qualities of the exemplary wife described in Proverbs 31:13 is that she looks for wool and flax and works with them with willing hands. Promiscuous Israel, in the image of a harlot, is said to have received her wool and her linen from her paramours; God will later take them away from her (Hos 2:5, 9).

The blue flowered plant, which grows to a height of 2 to 3 feet (c. 1m), is pulled from the ground when its seeds are ripe. The stalks are dried and its fibres combed while linseed oil is extracted from the shiny seeds.

FRANKINCENSESee INCENSE; SPICES AND PERFUMES

GALBANUMSee SPICES AND PERFUMES

GALLA poisonous and bitter herb used to signify bitterness and misfortune (Ps 69:21; Jer 8:14); and often mentioned together with wormwood in this context (Lam 3:19; Amos 6:12). In the Song of Moses those who rebel against the word of God are condemned: "their grapes are grapes of gall".

GARLIC A bulbed vegetable. The pungent garlic was among the foods the Israelites craved for after the Exodus from Egypt (Num 11:5-6).

GOPHER WOOD Mentioned only once in the Bible as the material from which God instructed Noah to build the ark. A possible identification with the conifer or cypress has been suggested.

GRAPE, GRAPEVINE See VINE, VINEYARD

GOURDS In Hebrew, the distinction is made between the feminine plural (pakka'ot) and the masculine plural (pakka'im). The former is mentioned only once, in II Kings 4:39 as a wild, poisonous fruit that was added to a pot of stew during time of famine. The stew was rendered edible by the prophet Elisha (II Kgs 4:38-41). It is believed that this strain of gourd might have been of the colocynth plant, a relative of the watermelon. The latter, translated as "ornamental buds", decorated the cedar paneling in Solomon's Temple (I Kgs 6:18). The plant, translated as "gourd" by the AV in Jonah 4:6ff, is in fact the castor.

HEMLOCK A poisonous plant. The name occurs only once in the Scriptures: "Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field" (Hos 10:4). It may refer, however, to the wild poppy.

HENNA See SPICES AND PERFUMES

HYSSOP A small, strongly aromatic shrub which grows between cliffs and rocks; it has been identified with Majoraner Syriaca, a plant of the Labiatae family.

Hyssop is referred to in the Book of Exodus where, the Israelites, in order to distinguish themselves from the Egyptians, used the shrub to smear blood on their doorposts: when God plagued the Egyptians, the marked houses of the Israelites were left unharmed (Ex 12:22).

Other biblical references mention the hyssop together with the cedar. The Bible describes King Solomon, the wisest of all men as one who knew everything from "the cedar tree of Lebanon to the hyssop that springs out of the wall" (I Kgs 4:33). Both hyssop and cedar were used in preparing the ashes of the red heifer (Num 19:6) and in the sprinkling of water of purification (Num 19:18). Both were also employed in a house plagued by leprosy (Lev 14:49) and in the water of purification for the leper (Lev 14:4).

Psalms (51:7) contains another reference to the symbolic use of hyssop in a purification ceremony. According to Hebrews 9:19 hyssop was sprinkled over the people at the sealing of the covenant at Sinai. Hyssop with sour wine was sprinkled on Jesus while he was on the cross (John 19:29).

JUNIPER A low-growing tree found in the Sinai and the desert of Edom, called aroer in Hebrew. The Moabite city Aroer might have been named after this tree (cf Jer 48:6). The "shrub in the desert" mentioned in Jeremiah 17:6 is thought by some scholars to refer to the juniper.

It is to be noted that in the AV a different Hebrew word is translated as juniper, while the RSV gives "wild ass" for aroer in Jeremiah 48:6.

LEEK Vegetable of the onion family, which was craved for by the Israelites in the wilderness following the Exodus from Egypt.

LENTIL A legume, reddish-brown in color. Esau traded his birthright for a pot of lentil stew prepared by his twin brother, Jacob, and thus received his epithet edom("red", Gen 25:29-34). Lentils were among the food delivered to David at Mahanaim (II Sam 17:27-29), and Ezekiel made a bread of lentils and other grains when he simulated the siege of Jerusalem (Ezek 4:9).

LILY The word lily may refer to any one of several different flowers, among them, the narcissus, wild tulip, crocus and anemone. The capitals of the two pillars Jachin and Boaz, in Solomon's Temple were in the form of a lily (I Kgs 7:19, 22) as was the rim of the molten sea (I Kgs 7:26; II Chr 4:5). The "lily of the valleys" is referred to in Song of Solomon 2:1 (cf Song 6:11) and the lily is mentioned several other times in these love poems (Song 2:2, 16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2-3; 7:2). In Hosea's image of the restoration of Israel, the nation will blossom as a lily (Hos 14:5).

The lily was a symbol of beauty, and as such was employed in the imagery of Jesus: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Matt 6:28-29; cf Luke 12:27).

LOTUS A thorny shrub or tree with small oval leaves, which is found in dry places. The word lotus occurs twice, but its identification is disputed and "lotus" may refer to the lily.

MALLOW This plant which has been identified as the shrubby orache, grows in the salt marshes of the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean. "Sons of vile men", who were "gaunt from want and famine" (Job 30:3-4, 8) ate from the mallow plant.

MANDRAKE A stemless perennial herb with a thick, branched taproot, blue or white winter flowers, and edible, plum-shaped orange-red springtime fruit. The fragrant plant (Song 7:13) has purgative, narcotic and emetic qualities, and was employed as an aphrodisiac and fertility and from early times. This explains why the barren Rachel made an exchange with Leah for some mandrakes collected by Reuben (Gen 30:14-16).

MANNA See article MANNA

MELON A fruit mentioned only once in the OT. It was indigenous to Egypt: when the Children of Israel were suffering from hunger in the wilderness of Sinai they recalled the good foods, among them melons, which they had eaten in Egypt.

MILLET A grass seed cultivated for making a poor quality of bread. Ezekiel used millet seeds along with other grains to make a bread which symbolized the siege of Jerusalem (Ezek 4:9). Millet is also mentioned as an item of trade between Judah and Israel and Tyre in Ezekiel's lamentation for Tyre (Ezek 27:17).

MINT A sweet-smelling herb whose leaves and stems contain an aromatic oil employed for medicinal and food-seasoning purposes. The name occurs only twice in the NT in connection with the tithe on various plants (Matt 23:23; Luke 11:42).

MULBERRY Growing to a height of 20 feet (6m), the black mulberry tree, common in Israel, has a large crown, large lobed leaves, and produces a sweet, fleshy fruit. Jesus mentioned the mulberry tree in a parable on faith (Luke 17:6; sycamine in some editions).

The tree mentioned in II Samuel 5:23-24 and I Chronicles 14:14-15, is usually translated as mulberry, but the identification is still not exactly known.

MUSTARD In parables concerning the Kingdom of God and faith, Jesus drew upon the mustard plant, "which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches" (Mark 4:31-32). The black mustard is the most common of the several varieties found in the Near East; it grows rapidly, up to 15 feet (c. 5m) in height.

MYRRH See SPICES AND PERFUMES

MYRTLE An aromatic evergreen shrub. Myrtle branches were among the greenery covering the booths during the festival of Tabernacles (Neh 8:15), and its ceremonial use remains incorporated within the holiday as one of the "four species" (along with the willow branches, palm leaf and ethrog). In Isaiah's prophecy of future restoration "the myrtle and the oil tree" will flourish in the desert (Is 41:19) and "instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree" (Is 55:13). Zechariah, in one of his visions, sees "the angel of the Lord, who stood among the myrtle trees" (Zech 1:11). The original name of Queen Esther was Hadassah, which is the feminine form of the Hebrew word for myrtle (Est 2:7).

NETTLE Two different Hebrew words are used to refer to this wild plant, known for its covering of stinging hairs, which release a toxic liquid upon contact. One is thought to be wild mustard, while the other is accepted specifically as nettle. Both are used to describe scenes of neglect and poverty; the passages in Isaiah and Hosea highlight destruction as well.

NUT When Jacob's sons went down to Egypt a second time, Jacob told them to take a present of "some of the best fruits of the land" for the Egyptian governor who, unknown to them, was their brother Joseph (Gen 43:11). Included with the gift of balm, honey, spices and myrrh were pistachio nuts and almonds. The tree from which pistachio nuts grow is found in the rocky areas of Palestine and Syria. The "garden of nuts" mentioned in the Song of Solomon was probably a plantation of walnuts.

OAK A tree noted for its size and strength. The Amorite "was as strong as the oaks" (Amos 2:9). In Isaiah 6:13, the future remnant of Judah is compared to the stump of an oak tree. Idol worship was common in oak groves (Ezek 6:13), and Hosea charged the Children of Israel with burning incense under oak trees (Hos 4:13).

OLIVE An evergreen tree, which grows in all lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. In Deuteronomy 8:8 the olive is listed as one of the seven plants characteristic of the promised land (cf Deut 6:11; 28:40). The olive tree is regarded in the Bible as a thing of beauty (Hos 14:6); hence Israel is personified as a leafy olive tree, beautiful with ripe fruit (Jer 11:16). The simile, "Your children like olive plants all around your table" (Ps 128:3), is based upon the observation that shoots springing from the roots of the olive tree protect the parent tree and, like children, survive the demise of the parent. In the Book of Job the death of the wicked is compared to the olive tree, which casts off "his blossom" in the spring (Job 15:33). The return of the dove to Noah's ark bearing in her mouth an olive branch (Gen 8:11) suggests the renewal of life after the deluge. This image then came to symbolize peace. According to Nehemiah 8:15 olive branches were among the species used in building the festival booths on the Feast of Tabernacles in the time of Ezra.

The most characteristic function of the olive in the biblical era was the extraction of oil from its ripe fruit. This oil was burnt for illumination (Ex 25:6; 27:20; Lev 24:2), and employed in cosmetics and anointing (Ex 30:25). It was an ingredient in food for human consumption and in certain obligatory (Ex 29:40; Num 28:5) and free-will offerings to the Lord (Lev 2:1-7). The finest grade of olive oil, called "pressed oil", was a major Israelite export from the reign of King Solomon (I Kgs 5:11; II Chr 2:14-15; Ezra 3:7; Hos 12:1).

Paul compares Gentile Christianity to a wild olive branch, which has been grafted on to a cultivated olive tree (i.e. Israel: Rom chap. 11). See OIL

ONION Member of the lily family and relative of the leek and the garlic, it was one of the foods craved by the Israelites in the wilderness.

ONYCHA One of the ingredients in the incense used exclusively in the sanctuary; its origins remain unknown. Some think that onycha was derived from the closing valve flaps of certain mollusks. Others, questioning such unclean origins, hold that it was a vegetable product.

PALM The date palm is a tall, stately tree which grows in Palestine's coastal plain and the Jordan Valley. Its physical attributes, such as its upright stature and towering height, inspired the Psalmist to use it as a simile for the righteous man (Ps 92:12) and the lover in the Song of Solomon for his beloved (Song 7:7). Several women in the Bible are called Tamar, which is the Hebrew for the palm tree; the word also figures in place-names such as Baal Tamar (Judg 20:33), Hazezon Tamar (Gen 14:7) and Tadmor (I Kgs 9:18). Jericho is known as the city of palms (Deut 34:3). The palm branch is one of the four species with which the Israelites are commanded to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:40). According to rabbinic tradition, the honey with which the land of Israel was blessed (e.g. Deut 8:8) was date honey. Date wine was also made in antiquity. Palm trees were grown in the vicinity of the Essene settlement at Qumran. Pliny the Elder (1st century A.D.) praised the dates of Judea, as the best known to him.

PAPYRUS A type of reed. Scholars think that the bulrushes mentioned in Exodus 2:3 refer to the papyrus. Papyrus was used in ancient Egypt in the construction of light boats or canoes because of the shortage of wood (Is 18:2). It was also a common writing material in Egypt from the 3rd millennium B.C. until well into the 1st millennium A.D. II John verse 12 refers to paper which was made from papyrus.

PINE A member of the conifer family of trees. The identification of conifers in the Bible, aside from the cedar of Lebanon, is a matter of dispute among botanists. It has been suggested that the pine trees mentioned in Isaiah might refer to fir, plane, or juniper trees.

PISTACHIO See NUT above

PODS Most probably the seed vessel of the carob tree. The word occurs only once, in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:16) as a foodstuff eaten by the swine. In rabbinic sources carob husks were frequently mentioned as a food of livestock, for sheep and goats and beasts of burden. Later referred to as "St John's Bread" on the mistaken assumption that John the Baptist would not have eaten locusts.

POMEGRANATE Fruit with purple-red rind and pink juicy seeds which came to symbolize agricultural fertility. In Deuteronomy it is listed as one of the "seven species" of the land of Israel (Deut 8:8), and the book of Numbers relates that the spies brought Moses some pomegranates as a specimen of the land's rich vegetation (Num 13:23). In contrast, the destruction of the land is reflected by the absence of the pomegranate (Hag 2:19; cf Joel 1:12). In addition to symbolizing the fertility of the land, it is a token of human fertility and love. In the Song of Solomon the pomegranate serves as an image of praise for both the beauty of the beloved (4:3, 13; 6:7) and the joy of spring (6:11; 7:12); it is also mentioned as the source of a delicious wine (Song 8:2).

So important and popular was the pomegranate that its shape inspired the embellishment of the robe of the high priest (Ex 28:33-34; 39:24-26). It also provided a model for decorating the capitals of the Temple pillars named Jachin and Boaz (I Kgs 7:18, 20; II Chr 3:16; 4:13).

POPLAR A white tree mentioned twice in the OT. Jacob spliced its branches along with the almond and plane trees in his scheme against Laban to increase his flocks (Gen 30:37). It is mentioned as growing with the oaks and terebinths in the hills (Hos 4:13).

RAISIN See VINE, VINEYARD below

REED The stalk of several types of tall aquatic grasses. Moses was placed in an ark "in the reeds by the river's bank" (Ex 2:3); and Job asks, "can the reeds flourish without water ?" (Job 8:11). Psalm 68:30 makes an obscure reference to the "beasts of the reeds". The Assyrian king, Sennacherib, compares Egypt to a "broken reed" (II Kgs 18:21; Is 36:6), and the prophet Ahijah, in the time of Jeroboam I predicts that "the Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in water" (I Kgs 14:15). The Lord's servant mentioned in Isaiah 42:3 and Matthew 12:20, will not break "a bruised reed". A reed is used as a measuring rod in Revelation (11:1; 21:15-16). The English word "canon" ultimately stems from the Hebrew word for reed, kane, which indicates the means by which something is measured.

Before Jesus' crucifixion, a reed was placed in his right hand (Matt 27:29), he was struck on the head with one (Mark 15:19) and a wine-soaked sponge on a reed was offered to him on the cross (Matt 27:48).

ROSE The flower (a member of the narcissus family) is mentioned twice in the OT: "I am the rose of Sharon" (Song 2:1). "And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose" (Is 35:1). However, the identity of the flower is not clear in either text.

RUE A strong-smelling shrub with gray-green leaves and lemon-yellow clusters of flowers; used as a condiment and charm. It is mentioned in Jesus' criticism of the Pharisees: "For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God'' (Luke 11:42; cf Matt 23:23).

SAFFRON A plant and its product used in cooking and medicine. It is mentioned only once, in the Song of Solomon 4:14, where the beloved is described as a park containing fragrant flowers and spices.

STACTE One of the ingredients compounded to make incense for the tabernacle (Ex 31:34-36). Its source is uncertain but most scholars suggest the storax tree from whose bark a fragrant resin can be obtained. The tree, with its snow-drop white flowers, is found throughout Palestine.

SYCAMORE (SYCOMORE) A tree indigenous to Palestine where it grew along the coastal plain and in the Negeb. It was so common that King Solomon "made cedars as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland" (I Kgs 10:27). This tree belonged to the family of the fig tree and had nothing in common with the sycamore of North America. David appointed an overseer for these trees in the lowland (I Chr 27:28). Amos identifies himself as a "tender of sycamore fruit".

In the NT, the short-statured Zacchaeus climbs a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus (Luke 19:4).

TAMARISK A tree or shrub with scalelike leaves. Abraham planted a tamarisk in Beersheba (Gen 21:33). Saul sat under one in Gibeah (I Sam 22:6) and his bones were buried beneath a tamarisk in Jobesh-Gilead (I Sam 31:13).

TEREBINTH A large tree, common in Palestine, which grows to a height of 35 feet (10.5m). God appeared to Abraham after his circumcision "by the terebinth trees of Mamre" (Gen 18:1), and the angel of the Lord visited Gideon at the terebinth tree in Ophrah (Judg 6:11). Jacob hid his household idols under such a tree before returning to Bethel to live there; and his wife Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, was buried under a terebinth tree (Gen 35:4, 8). Terebinth trees also acted as boundary markers (Josh 19:33) and landmarks (I Sam 10:3). Abimelech was crowned beside one (Judg 9:6), and his attack on Shechem passed by the Diviner's terebinth tree (Judg 9:37). Absalom's revolt ended in his entanglement in one "and his head caught in the terebinth so he was left hanging between heaven and earth" (II Sam 18:9). Isaiah prophesied that Judah "shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fades" (Is 1:30) and that none but the "stump" shall remain (Is 6:13). Hosea charged the Children of Israel with burning incense under terebinths.

THISTLE, THORN Types of wild plant which have sharp projections on their stems, branches or leaves. Over 20 different Hebrew words are used to describe these plants, frequently mentioned together in the Bible.

Thistles and thorns are figuratively employed to describe the results of sin (e.g. Gen 3:18; Hos 10:8). Elsewhere they denote worthlessness (II Sam 23:6; II Kgs 14:9); while in Matthew 7:16 they symbolize the evil of false prophets (cf Luke 6:44).

VINE, VINEYARD One of the most characteristic plants of Palestine. When Moses sent the spies into Canaan it "was the season of the first ripe grapes" (Num 13:20), and the spies returned with a cluster of grapes (Num 13:23). Nazirites were forbidden to drink "any grape juice'' or eat "fresh grapes or raisins" (Num 6:3). Raisins or raisin cakes, made from dried grapes, could be kept for a long time and were therefore suitable food for journeys (II Sam 6:19) and military provisions (II Sam 16:1).

The vine is employed in the OT to symbolize peace and security, "Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each man under his vine and fig tree" (I Kgs 4:25; cf Mic 4:4; Zech 3:10). Israel is compared to a vine which has taken "deep root" (Ps 80:8-9), but has "brought forth wild grapes" (Is 5:2). The inhabitants of Jerusalem will be devoured by fire like the "wood of the vine" (Ezek 15:2-8) because of their unfaithfulness.

In the NT, the most important symbolic use of the vine is Jesus' description of himself as "the true vine" (John 15:1). The connection between him and his followers is emphasized by his extension of this metaphor "I am the vine, you are the branches� without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

A detailed description of the planting of a vineyard is found in Isaiah 5:1-2, and an example of an Iron Age terraced farm of this sort was excavated at Khirbet er-Ras to the southwest of Jerusalem. It was usually planted on a hill (Jer 31:5; Amos 9:13; Ps 80:10) and provided with a hedge for protection from boars (Ps 80:13), foxes (Song 2:15) and thieves (Jer 49:9). Each vineyard had a storehouse (Is 5:2). Vineyards could be rented out (Song 8:11; Matt 21:33-43) or cultivated by the owners or by hired laborers (Matt 20:1-16). In the Levitical laws dealing with the harvest, vineyards were not to be gleaned (Lev 19:10; cf Deut 24:21). A vineyard was the cause of a dispute between King Ahab and Naboth which ended in the latter's death (I kgs 21:1ff).

WHEAT One of the most important grains, along with barley; cultivated since prehistoric times. Wheat is listed among the seven blessings of the land of Canaan (Deut 8:8). There are many references in the Bible to the harvesting (I Sam 6:13; Ruth 2:23), threshing (Judg 6:11; I Chr 21:20), cleaning (II Sam 4:6) and winnowing (Matt 3:12) of wheat. Its harvest served as the beginning of the Feast of Weeks, one of the three annual pilgrim festivals (Ex 34:22; Num 28:26-31). Wheat served as an export item sent by Solomon to Hiram (I Kgs 5:10-11).

Is also appears in poetic images, for God's care for Israel (Ps 81:16; 147:14) and describes as well, one of the limbs of the beautiful body of a young girl (Song 7:2). In the Nt it is employed both in allegory (Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17) and parable (Matt 13:25-30; Luke 16:7).

WILLOW Two different Hebrew words are rendered as willow, a tree found along water courses. The "willows of the brooks" (Lev 23:40; Job 40:22) are among the plants to be used for the Feast of Tabernacles. It was upon the willows "by the rivers of Babylon" that the exiles hung their harps and wept (Ps 137:1-2).

WORMWOOD A bitter plant indigenous to Palestine, yielding a juice with medicinal properties. It is mostly employed in metaphors: an "immoral woman" is "bitter as wormwood" (prov 5:4). Jeremiah describes God's judgment as feeding the people wormwood and giving them water of gall to drink (Jer 9:15; 23:15). Amos condemns those who turn "justice to wormwood'' (Amos 5:7; cf 6:12); and the prophet's anguish over the destruction of Jerusalem was like the bitterness of wormwood and gall (Lam 3:15, 19). In the Book of Revelation the blazing star which falls from heaven is called wormwood (Rev 8:10-11).

The most recent and most authoritative work on the folklore of plants in the British Isles is Roy Vickery's A Dictionary of Plant Lore (1995), drawing on information gathered between 1981 and 1994, as well as on previous books and journals. It covers beliefs, customs, and traditional uses, and is supplemented by his booklet on Unlucky Plants (1985). Among older works, the most important are T. F. Thistleton Dyer's The Folk-Lore of Plants (1889), and Geoffrey Grigson's The Englishman's Flora (1955; 2nd edn., 1987).

See FLOWERS, HERBS, TREES, and the names of individual plants.

Any multicellular organism of the kingdom Plantae characteristically containing chloroplasts, having cellulose cell walls, lacking the power of locomotion, and reproducing by seeds or spores.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a person devoted to gardening, plants can have a wide range of meanings. More specifically, most of us associate plants with life and especially with growth, so a dream about plants could be drawing on either of those associations. Planting has other associations, such as beginning a new project.

A member of the vegetable kingdom; living things characterized by absence of locomotion, absence of special senses, and feeding only on inorganic substances.

• abortigenic p. — plants that cause abortion include Pinus, Cupressus and Astragalus spp.
• p. alkaloids — see alkaloid.
• annual p. — one that completes its life cycle within one year. A winter annual plant germinates in the fall, overwinters as a seedling and flowers and seeds in spring. The dominant grazing species in the early spring. Examples would be many mustard weeds of disturbed places incriminated in the congenital hypothyroid dysmaturity syndrome in foals.
• p. awns — sharp, long processes attached to seed casings of plants, mostly grasses; important causes of skin and oral lesions in grazing animals, and to housed animals when fed hay containing the plants.
• biennial p. — one that completes its life cycle in two years, generally germinating and growing in the first year and flowering, fruiting and subsequently dying in the second year.
• p. eating — both dogs and cats may eat grass; indoor animals sometimes eat ornamental plants, some of which are poisonous.
• p. edemagens — plant substances that cause edema in animals, e.g. 3-methyl indole, produced in the rumen from tryptophan.
• p. hormones — organic substances produced by plants which are extracted and used as herbicides or plant growth stimulants. Some of them cause long-term ill health in animals if drunk in large quantities.
• perennial p. — one that completes its life cycle over more than two years.
• p. poisoning — the list of poison plants is very large and it is necessary to know the suspect plant's botanical name to begin an effective search for information about it. In order to exert an effect on an animal the plant has, in most cases, to be eaten. There are a few plants that exert a toxic effect by inhalation or by skin contact.
• p. protein — the proteins in plants. Common, protein-rich plants include alfalfa, the oilseed meals, e.g. soyabean, cottonseed and linseed meals, clover, the legume seeds, e.g. peas, beans.
• teratogenic p. — plants that cause congenital defects include Lupinus, Lathyrus, Leucaena, Nicotiana, Conium, Astragalus, Oxytropis, Veratrum, Vicia, Salsola spp.
• p. toxins — phytotoxins, elaborated by plants, in some cases incorporating an inorganic element, e.g. selenocompounds, and in some cases present in the plant in an inert state, requiring an additional ingredient, e.g. ruminal fermentation to activate it.

• Farming and Crops - planting: one season’s crop

For other uses, see Plant (disambiguation).

Plants Temporal range: Early Cambrian to recent, but see text, 520–0 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
(unranked):	Archaeplastida
Kingdom:	Plantae Haeckel, 1866[1]
Divisions
Green algae Chlorophyta Charophyta Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular land plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta—liverworts Anthocerotophyta—hornworts Bryophyta—mosses †Horneophytopsida Vascular plants (tracheophytes) †Rhyniophyta—rhyniophytes †Zosterophyllophyta—zosterophylls Lycopodiophyta—clubmosses †Trimerophytophyta—trimerophytes Pteridophyta—ferns and horsetails †Progymnospermophyta Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta—seed ferns Pinophyta—conifers Cycadophyta—cycads Ginkgophyta—ginkgo Gnetophyta—gnetae Magnoliophyta—flowering plants †Nematophytes

Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as flowering plants, conifers, ferns, mosses, and green algae, but do not include seaweeds like kelp, nor fungi and bacteria. The group is also called green plants or Viridiplantae in Latin. They obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis using chlorophyll contained in chloroplasts, which gives them their green color. Some plants are parasitic and may not produce normal amounts of chlorophyll or photosynthesize.

Precise numbers are difficult to determine, but as of 2010^[update], there are thought to be 300–315 thousand species of plants, of which the great majority, some 260–290 thousand, are seed plants (see the table below).^[2]

The scientific study of plants is known as botany.

Contents 1 Definition 1.1 Current definitions of Plantae 1.2 Algae 1.3 Fungi 2 Diversity 2.1 Evolution 2.2 Embryophytes 2.3 Fossils 3 Structure, growth, and development 3.1 Factors affecting growth 3.2 Plant cell 4 Physiology 4.1 Photosynthesis 4.2 Immune system 4.3 Internal distribution 5 Ecology 5.1 Distribution 5.2 Ecological relationships 6 Importance 6.1 Food 6.2 Nonfood products 6.3 Aesthetic uses 6.4 Scientific and cultural uses 6.5 Negative effects 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External links

Definition

Plants are one of the two groups into which all living things have been traditionally divided; the other is animals. The division goes back at least as far as Aristotle (384 BC – 322 BC) who distinguished between plants which generally do not move, and animals which often are mobile to catch their food. Much later, when Linnaeus (1707–1778) created the basis of the modern system of scientific classification, these two groups became the kingdoms Vegetabilia (later Metaphyta or Plantae) and Animalia (also called Metazoa). Since then, it has become clear that the plant kingdom as originally defined included several unrelated groups, and the fungi and several groups of algae were removed to new kingdoms. However, these organisms are still often considered plants, particularly in popular contexts.

Outside of formal scientific contexts, the term "plant" implies an association with certain traits, such as being multicellular, possessing cellulose, and having the ability to carry out photosynthesis.^[3][4]

Current definitions of Plantae

When the name Plantae or plant is applied to a specific group of organisms or taxon, it usually refers 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	This group includes the land plants plus various groups of green algae, including stoneworts. The names given to these groups vary considerably as of July 2011[update]. 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	This group 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.

Another way of looking at the relationships between the different groups which have been called "plants" is through a cladogram, which shows their evolutionary relationships. The evolutionary history of plants is not yet completely settled, but one accepted relationship between the three groups described above is shown below.^[5] Those which have been called "plants" are in bold.

Archaeplastida  Glaucophyta (glaucophyte algae)  Rhodophyta (red algae)  Viridiplantae  Chlorophyta (part of green algae)  Streptophyta  streptophyte algae (part of green algae)  Charales (stoneworts, often included  in green algae)  land plants or embryophytes

groups traditionally called "algae"

The way in which the groups of green algae are combined and named varies considerably between authors.

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.^{[citation needed]}

Algae

Green algae from Ernst Haeckel's Kunstformen der Natur, 1904.

Main article: Algae

Algae comprise several different groups of organisms which produce energy through photosynthesis and for that reason have been included in the plant kingdom in the past. Most conspicuous among the algae are the seaweeds, multicellular algae that may roughly resemble land plants, but are classified among the brown, red and green algae. Each of these algal groups also includes various microscopic and single-celled organisms. There is good evidence that some of these algal groups arose independently from separate non-photosynthetic ancestors, with the result that many groups of algae are no longer classified within the plant kingdom as it is defined here.^[6][7]

The Viridiplantae, the green plants – green algae and land plants – form a clade, a group consisting of all the descendants of a common ancestor. With a few exceptions among the green algae, all green plants have many features in common, including cell walls containing cellulose, chloroplasts containing chlorophylls a and b, and food stores in the form of starch. They undergo closed mitosis without centrioles, and typically have mitochondria with flat cristae. The chloroplasts of green plants are surrounded by two membranes, suggesting they originated directly from endosymbiotic cyanobacteria.

Two additional groups, the Rhodophyta (red algae) and Glaucophyta (glaucophyte algae), also have chloroplasts which appear to be derived directly from endosymbiotic cyanobacteria, although they differ in the pigments which are used in photosynthesis and so are different in colour. All three groups together are generally believed to have a single common origin, and so are classified together in the taxon Archaeplastida, whose name implies that the chloroplasts or plastids of all the members of the taxon were derived from a single ancient endosymbiotic event. This is the broadest modern definition of the plants.

In contrast, most other algae (e.g. heterokonts, haptophytes, dinoflagellates, and euglenids) not only have different pigments but also have chloroplasts with three or four surrounding membranes. They are not close relatives of the Archaeplastida, presumably having acquired chloroplasts separately from ingested or symbiotic green and red algae. They are thus not included in even the broadest modern definition of the plant kingdom, although they were in the past.

The green plants or Viridiplantae were traditionally divided into the green algae (including the stoneworts) and the land plants. However, it is now known that the land plants evolved from within a group of green algae, so that the green algae by themselves are a paraphyletic group, i.e. a group which excludes some of the descendants of a common ancestor. Paraphyletic groups are generally avoided in modern classifications, so that in recent treatments the Viridiplantae have been divided into two clades, the Chlorophyta and the Streptophyta (or Charophyta).^[8][9]

The Chlorophyta (a name that has also been used for all green algae) are the sister group to the group from which the land plants evolved. There are about 4,300 species^[10] of mainly marine organisms, both unicellular and multicellular. The latter include the sea lettuce, Ulva.

The other group within the Viridiplantae are the mainly freshwater or terrestrial Streptophyta (or Charophyta), which consist of several groups of green algae plus the stoneworts and land plants. (The names have been used differently, e.g. Streptophyta to mean the group which excludes the land plants and Charophyta for the stoneworts alone or the stoneworts plus the land plants.) Streptophyte algae are either unicellular or form multicellular filaments, branched or unbranched.^[9] The genus Spirogyra is a filamentous streptophyte alga familiar to many, as it is often used in teaching and is one of the organisms responsible for the algal "scum" which pond-owners so dislike. The freshwater stoneworts strongly resemble land plants and are believed to be their closest relatives. Growing underwater, they consist of a central stalk with whorls of branchlets, giving them a superficial resemblance to horsetails, species of the genus Equisetum, which are true land plants.

Fungi

Main article: Fungi

The classification of fungi has been controversial until quite recently in the history of biology. Linnaeus' original classification placed the fungi within the Plantae, since they were unquestionably not animals or minerals and these were the only other alternatives. With later developments in microbiology, in the 19th century Ernst Haeckel felt that another kingdom was required to classify newly discovered micro-organisms. The introduction of the new kingdom Protista in addition to Plantae and Animalia, led to uncertainty as to whether fungi truly were best placed in the Plantae or whether they ought to be reclassified as protists. Haeckel himself found it difficult to decide and it was not until 1969 that a solution was found whereby Robert Whittaker proposed the creation of the kingdom Fungi. Molecular evidence has since shown that the last common ancestor (concestor) of the Fungi was probably more similar to that of the Animalia than of any other kingdom, including the Plantae.

Whittaker's original reclassification was based on the fundamental difference in nutrition between the Fungi and the Plantae. Unlike plants, which generally gain carbon through photosynthesis, and so are called autotrophic phototrophs, fungi generally obtain carbon by breaking down and absorbing surrounding materials, and so are called heterotrophic saprotrophs. In addition, the substructure of multicellular fungi is different from that of plants, taking the form of many chitinous microscopic strands called hyphae, which may be further subdivided into cells or may form a syncytium containing many eukaryotic nuclei. Fruiting bodies, of which mushrooms are most familiar example, are the reproductive structures of fungi, and are unlike any structures produced by plants.

Diversity

The table below shows some species count estimates of different green plant (Viridiplantae) divisions. It suggests there are about 300,000 species of living Viridiplantae, of which 85-90% are flowering plants. (Note: as these are from different sources and different dates, they are not necessarily comparable, and like all species counts, are subject to a degree of uncertainty in some cases.)

Diversity of living green plant (Viridiplantae) divisions

Informal group	Division name	Common name	No. of living species	Approximate No. in informal group
Green algae	Chlorophyta	green algae (chlorophytes)	3,800 [11] – 4,300 [12]	8,500 (6,600 - 10,300)
	Charophyta	green algae (e.g. desmids & stoneworts)	2,800;[13] 4,000-6,000 [14]
Bryophytes	Marchantiophyta	liverworts	6,000-8,000 [15]	19,000 (18,100 - 20,200)
	Anthocerotophyta	hornworts	100-200 [16]
	Bryophyta	mosses	12,000 [17]
Pteridophytes	Lycopodiophyta	club mosses	1,200 [7]	12,000 (12,200)
	Pteridophyta	ferns, whisk ferns & horsetails	11,000 [7]
Seed plants	Cycadophyta	cycads	160 [18]	260,000 (259,511)
	Ginkgophyta	ginkgo	1 [19]
	Pinophyta	conifers	630 [7]
	Gnetophyta	gnetophytes	70 [7]
	Magnoliophyta	flowering plants	258,650 [20]

The naming of plants is governed by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature and International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (see cultivated plant taxonomy).

Evolution

Further information: Evolutionary history of plants

The evolution of plants has resulted in increasing levels of complexity, from the earliest algal mats, through bryophytes, lycopods, ferns to the complex gymnosperms and angiosperms of today. The groups which appeared earlier continue to thrive, especially in the environments in which they evolved.

Evidence suggests that an algal scum formed on the land 1,200 million years ago, but it was not until the Ordovician Period, around 450 million years ago, that land plants appeared.^[21] However, new evidence from the study of carbon isotope ratios in Precambrian rocks has suggested that complex photosynthetic plants developed on the earth over 1000 m.y.a.^[22] These began to diversify in the late Silurian Period, around 420 million years ago, and the fruits of their diversification are displayed in remarkable detail in an early Devonian fossil assemblage from the Rhynie chert. This chert preserved early plants in cellular detail, petrified in volcanic springs. By the middle of the Devonian Period most of the features recognised in plants today are present, including roots, leaves and secondary wood, and by late Devonian times seeds had evolved.^[23] Late Devonian plants had thereby reached a degree of sophistication that allowed them to form forests of tall trees. Evolutionary innovation continued after the Devonian period. Most plant groups were relatively unscathed by the Permo-Triassic extinction event, although the structures of communities changed. This may have set the scene for the evolution of flowering plants in the Triassic (~200 million years ago), which exploded in the Cretaceous and Tertiary. The latest major group of plants to evolve were the grasses, which became important in the mid Tertiary, from around 40 million years ago. The grasses, as well as many other groups, evolved new mechanisms of metabolism to survive the low CO₂ and warm, dry conditions of the tropics over the last 10 million years.

This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. Please help clarify the article; suggestions may be found on the talk page. (March 2009)

A proposed phylogenetic tree of Plantae, after Kenrick and Crane,^[24] is as follows, with modification to the Pteridophyta from Smith et al.^[25] The Prasinophyceae may be a paraphyletic basal group to all green plants.

Prasinophyceae (micromonads) Streptobionta Embryophytes Stomatophytes Polysporangiates Tracheophytes Eutracheophytes Euphyllophytina Lignophytia Spermatophytes (seed plants) Progymnospermophyta † Pteridophyta Pteridopsida (true ferns) Marattiopsida Equisetopsida (horsetails) Psilotopsida (whisk ferns & adders'-tongues) Cladoxylopsida † Lycophytina Lycopodiophyta Zosterophyllophyta † Rhyniophyta † Aglaophyton † Horneophytopsida † Bryophyta (mosses) Anthocerotophyta (hornworts) Marchantiophyta (liverworts) Charophyta Chlorophyta Trebouxiophyceae (Pleurastrophyceae) Chlorophyceae Ulvophyceae

Embryophytes

Main article: Embryophyte

Dicksonia antarctica, a species of tree fern

The plants that are likely most familiar to us are the multicellular land plants, called embryophytes. They include the vascular plants, plants with full systems of leaves, stems, and roots. They also include a few of their close relatives, often called bryophytes, of which mosses and liverworts are the most common.

All of these plants have eukaryotic cells with cell walls composed of cellulose, and most obtain their energy through photosynthesis, using light and carbon dioxide to synthesize food. About three hundred plant species do not photosynthesize but are parasites on other species of photosynthetic plants. Plants are distinguished from green algae, which represent a mode of photosynthetic life similar to the kind modern plants are believed to have evolved from, by having specialized reproductive organs protected by non-reproductive tissues.

Bryophytes first appeared during the early Paleozoic. They can only survive where moisture is available for significant periods, although some species are desiccation tolerant. Most species of bryophyte remain small throughout their life-cycle. This involves an alternation between two generations: a haploid stage, called the gametophyte, and a diploid stage, called the sporophyte. The sporophyte is short-lived and remains dependent on its parent gametophyte.

Vascular plants first appeared during the Silurian period, and by the Devonian had diversified and spread into many different land environments. They have a number of adaptations that allowed them to overcome the limitations of the bryophytes. These include a cuticle resistant to desiccation, and vascular tissues which transport water throughout the organism. In most the sporophyte acts as a separate individual, while the gametophyte remains small.

The first primitive seed plants, Pteridosperms (seed ferns) and Cordaites, both groups now extinct, appeared in the late Devonian and diversified through the Carboniferous, with further evolution through the Permian and Triassic periods. In these the gametophyte stage is completely reduced, and the sporophyte begins life inside an enclosure called a seed, which develops while on the parent plant, and with fertilisation by means of pollen grains. Whereas other vascular plants, such as ferns, reproduce by means of spores and so need moisture to develop, some seed plants can survive and reproduce in extremely arid conditions.

Early seed plants are referred to as gymnosperms (naked seeds), as the seed embryo is not enclosed in a protective structure at pollination, with the pollen landing directly on the embryo. Four surviving groups remain widespread now, particularly the conifers, which are dominant trees in several biomes. The angiosperms, comprising the flowering plants, were the last major group of plants to appear, emerging from within the gymnosperms during the Jurassic and diversifying rapidly during the Cretaceous. These differ in that the seed embryo (angiosperm) is enclosed, so the pollen has to grow a tube to penetrate the protective seed coat; they are the predominant group of flora in most biomes today.

Fossils

Main articles: Paleobotany and Evolutionary history of plants

A petrified log in Petrified Forest National Park.

Plant fossils include roots, wood, leaves, seeds, fruit, pollen, spores, phytoliths, and amber (the fossilized resin produced by some plants). Fossil land plants are recorded in terrestrial, lacustrine, fluvial and nearshore marine sediments. Pollen, spores and algae (dinoflagellates and acritarchs) are used for dating sedimentary rock sequences. The remains of fossil plants are not as common as fossil animals, although plant fossils are locally abundant in many regions worldwide.

The earliest fossils clearly assignable to Kingdom Plantae are fossil green algae from the Cambrian. These fossils resemble calcified multicellular members of the Dasycladales. Earlier Precambrian fossils are known which resemble single-cell green algae, but definitive identity with that group of algae is uncertain.

The oldest known fossils of embryophytes date from the Ordovician, though such fossils are fragmentary. By the Silurian, fossils of whole plants are preserved, including the lycophyte Baragwanathia longifolia. From the Devonian, detailed fossils of rhyniophytes have been found. Early fossils of these ancient plants show the individual cells within the plant tissue. The Devonian period also saw the evolution of what many believe to be the first modern tree, Archaeopteris. This fern-like tree combined a woody trunk with the fronds of a fern, but produced no seeds.

The Coal measures are a major source of Paleozoic plant fossils, with many groups of plants in existence at this time. The spoil heaps of coal mines are the best places to collect; coal itself is the remains of fossilised plants, though structural detail of the plant fossils is rarely visible in coal. In the Fossil Forest at Victoria Park in Glasgow, Scotland, the stumps of Lepidodendron trees are found in their original growth positions.

The fossilized remains of conifer and angiosperm roots, stems and branches may be locally abundant in lake and inshore sedimentary rocks from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras. Sequoia and its allies, magnolia, oak, and palms are often found.

Petrified wood is common in some parts of the world, and is most frequently found in arid or desert areas where it is more readily exposed by erosion. Petrified wood is often heavily silicified (the organic material replaced by silicon dioxide), and the impregnated tissue is often preserved in fine detail. Such specimens may be cut and polished using lapidary equipment. Fossil forests of petrified wood have been found in all continents.

Fossils of seed ferns such as Glossopteris are widely distributed throughout several continents of the Southern Hemisphere, a fact that gave support to Alfred Wegener's early ideas regarding Continental drift theory.

Structure, growth, and development

Further information: Plant morphology

Most of the solid material in a plant is taken from the atmosphere. Through a process known as photosynthesis, most plants use the energy in sunlight to convert carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, plus water, into simple sugars. Parasitic plants, on the other hand, use the resources of its host to grow. These sugars are then used as building blocks and form the main structural component of the plant. Chlorophyll, a green-colored, magnesium-containing pigment is essential to this process; it is generally present in plant leaves, and often in other plant parts as well.

Plants usually rely on soil primarily for support and water (in quantitative terms), but also obtain compounds of nitrogen, phosphorus, and other crucial elemental nutrients. Epiphytic and lithophytic plants often depend on rainwater or other sources for nutrients and carnivorous plants supplement their nutrient requirements with insect prey that they capture. For the majority of plants to grow successfully they also require oxygen in the atmosphere and around their roots for respiration. However, some plants grow as submerged aquatics, using oxygen dissolved in the surrounding water, and a few specialized vascular plants, such as mangroves, can grow with their roots in anoxic conditions.

The leaf is usually the primary site of photosynthesis in plants.

There is no photosynthesis in deciduous leaves in autumn.

Factors affecting growth

The genotype of a plant affects its growth. For example, selected varieties of wheat grow rapidly, maturing within 110 days, whereas others, in the same environmental conditions, grow more slowly and mature within 155 days.^[26]

Growth is also determined by environmental factors, such as temperature, available water, available light, and available nutrients in the soil. Any change in the availability of these external conditions will be reflected in the plants growth.

Biotic factors are also capable of affecting plant growth. Plants compete with other plants for space, water, light and nutrients. Plants can be so crowded that no single individual produces normal growth, causing etiolation and chlorosis. Optimal plant growth can be hampered by grazing animals, suboptimal soil composition, lack of mycorrhizal fungi, and attacks by insects or plant diseases, including those caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes.^[26]

Simple plants like algae may have short life spans as individuals, but their populations are commonly seasonal. Other plants may be organized according to their seasonal growth pattern: annual plants live and reproduce within one growing season, biennial plants live for two growing seasons and usually reproduce in second year, and perennial plants live for many growing seasons and continue to reproduce once they are mature. These designations often depend on climate and other environmental factors; plants that are annual in alpine or temperate regions can be biennial or perennial in warmer climates. Among the vascular plants, perennials include both evergreens that keep their leaves the entire year, and deciduous plants which lose their leaves for some part of it. In temperate and boreal climates, they generally lose their leaves during the winter; many tropical plants lose their leaves during the dry season.

The growth rate of plants is extremely variable. Some mosses grow less than 0.001 millimeters per hour (mm/h), while most trees grow 0.025-0.250 mm/h. Some climbing species, such as kudzu, which do not need to produce thick supportive tissue, may grow up to 12.5 mm/h.

Dried dead plants

Plants protect themselves from frost and dehydration stress with antifreeze proteins, heat-shock proteins and sugars (sucrose is common). LEA (Late Embryogenesis Abundant) protein expression is induced by stresses and protects other proteins from aggregation as a result of desiccation and freezing.^[27]

Plant cell

Plant cell structure

Main article: Plant cell

Plant cells are typically distinguished by their large water-filled central vacuole, chloroplasts, and rigid cell walls that are made up of cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. Cell division is also characterized by the development of a phragmoplast for the construction of a cell plate in the late stages of cytokinesis. Just as in animals, plant cells differentiate and develop into multiple cell types. Totipotent meristematic cells can differentiate into vascular, storage, protective (e.g. epidermal layer), or reproductive tissues, with more primitive plants lacking some tissue types.^[28]

Physiology

Main article: Plant physiology

Photosynthesis

Main articles: Photosynthesis and Biological pigment

Plants are photosynthetic, which means that they manufacture their own food molecules using energy obtained from light. The primary mechanism plants have for capturing light energy is the pigment chlorophyll. All green plants contain two forms of chlorophyll, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. The latter of these pigments is not found in red or brown algae.

Immune system

By means of cells that behave like nerves, plants receive and distribute within their systems information about incident light intensity and quality. Incident light which stimulates a chemical reaction in one leaf, will cause a chain reaction of signals to the entire plant via a type of cell termed a bundle sheath cell. Researchers from the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Poland, found that plants have a specific memory for varying light conditions which prepares their immune systems against seasonal pathogens.^[29] Plants use pattern-recognition receptors to recognize conserved microbial signatures. This recognition triggers an immune response. The first plant receptors of conserved microbial signatures were identified in rice (XA21, 1995)^[30] and in Arabidopsis (FLS2, 2000).^[31] Plants also carry immune receptors that recognize highly variable pathogen effectors. These include the NBS-LRR class of proteins.

Internal distribution

Main article: Vascular tissue

Vascular plants differ from other plants in that they transport nutrients between different parts through specialized structures, called xylem and phloem. They also have roots for taking up water and minerals. The xylem moves water and minerals from the root to the rest of the plant, and the phloem provides the roots with sugars and other nutrient produced by the leaves.^[28]

Ecology

Main article: Plant ecology

The photosynthesis conducted by land plants and algae is the ultimate source of energy and organic material in nearly all ecosystems. Photosynthesis radically changed the composition of the early Earth's atmosphere, which as a result is now 21% oxygen. Animals and most other organisms are aerobic, relying on oxygen; those that do not are confined to relatively rare anaerobic environments. Plants are the primary producers in most terrestrial ecosystems and form the basis of the food web in those ecosystems. Many animals rely on plants for shelter as well as oxygen and food.

Land plants are key components of the water cycle and several other biogeochemical cycles. Some plants have coevolved with nitrogen fixing bacteria, making plants an important part of the nitrogen cycle. Plant roots play an essential role in soil development and prevention of soil erosion.

Distribution

This section requires expansion.

Plants are distributed worldwide in varying numbers. While they inhabit a multitude of biomes and ecoregions, few can be found beyond the tundras at the northernmost regions of continental shelves. At the southern extremes, plants have adapted tenaciously to the prevailing conditions. (See Antarctic flora.)

Plants are often the dominant physical and structural component of habitats where they occur. Many of the Earth's biomes are named for the type of vegetation because plants are the dominant organisms in those biomes, such as grasslands and forests.

Ecological relationships

The Venus flytrap, a species of carnivorous plant.

Numerous animals have coevolved with plants. Many animals pollinate flowers in exchange for food in the form of pollen or nectar. Many animals disperse seeds, often by eating fruit and passing the seeds in their feces. Myrmecophytes are plants that have coevolved with ants. The plant provides a home, and sometimes food, for the ants. In exchange, the ants defend the plant from herbivores and sometimes competing plants. Ant wastes provide organic fertilizer.

The majority of plant species have various kinds of fungi associated with their root systems in a kind of mutualistic symbiosis known as mycorrhiza. The fungi help the plants gain water and mineral nutrients from the soil, while the plant gives the fungi carbohydrates manufactured in photosynthesis. Some plants serve as homes for endophytic fungi that protect the plant from herbivores by producing toxins. The fungal endophyte, Neotyphodium coenophialum, in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) does tremendous economic damage to the cattle industry in the U.S.

Various forms of parasitism are also fairly common among plants, from the semi-parasitic mistletoe that merely takes some nutrients from its host, but still has photosynthetic leaves, to the fully parasitic broomrape and toothwort that acquire all their nutrients through connections to the roots of other plants, and so have no chlorophyll. Some plants, known as myco-heterotrophs, parasitize mycorrhizal fungi, and hence act as epiparasites on other plants.

Many plants are epiphytes, meaning they grow on other plants, usually trees, without parasitizing them. Epiphytes may indirectly harm their host plant by intercepting mineral nutrients and light that the host would otherwise receive. The weight of large numbers of epiphytes may break tree limbs. Hemiepiphytes like the strangler fig begin as epiphytes but eventually set their own roots and overpower and kill their host. Many orchids, bromeliads, ferns and mosses often grow as epiphytes. Bromeliad epiphytes accumulate water in leaf axils to form phytotelmata, complex aquatic food webs.^[32]

Approximately 630 plants are carnivorous, such as the Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) and sundew (Drosera species). They trap small animals and digest them to obtain mineral nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus.^[33]

Importance

Potato plant. Potatoes spread to the rest of the world after European contact with the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and have since become an important field crop.

Timber in storage for later processing at a sawmill.

A section of a Yew branch showing 27 annual growth rings, pale sapwood and dark heartwood, and pith (centre dark spot). The dark radial lines are longitudinal sections of small branches which became included by growth of the tree.

The study of plant uses by people is termed economic botany or ethnobotany; some consider economic botany to focus on modern cultivated plants, while ethnobotany focuses on indigenous plants cultivated and used by native peoples. Human cultivation of plants is part of agriculture, which is the basis of human civilization. Plant agriculture is subdivided into agronomy, horticulture and forestry.

Food

Much of human nutrition depends on land plants, either directly or indirectly.
Human nutrition depends to a large extent on cereals, especially maize (or corn), wheat and rice. Other staple crops include potato, cassava, and legumes. Human food also includes vegetables, spices, and certain fruits, nuts, herbs, and edible flowers.
Beverages produced from plants include coffee, tea, wine, beer and alcohol.
Sugar is obtained mainly from sugar cane and sugar beet.
Cooking oils and margarine come from maize, soybean, rapeseed, safflower, sunflower, olive and others.
Food additives include gum arabic, guar gum, locust bean gum, starch and pectin.
Livestock animals including cows, pigs, sheep, and goats are all herbivores; and feed primarily or entirely on cereal plants, particularly grasses.

Nonfood products

Wood is used for buildings, furniture, paper, cardboard, musical instruments and sports equipment. Cloth is often made from cotton, flax or synthetic fibers derived from cellulose, such as rayon and acetate. Renewable fuels from plants include firewood, peat and many other biofuels. Coal and petroleum are fossil fuels derived from plants. Medicines derived from plants include aspirin, taxol, morphine, quinine, reserpine, colchicine, digitalis and vincristine. There are hundreds of herbal supplements such as ginkgo, Echinacea, feverfew, and Saint John's wort. Pesticides derived from plants include nicotine, rotenone, strychnine and pyrethrins. Drugs obtained from plants include opium, cocaine and marijuana. Poisons from plants include ricin, hemlock and curare. Plants are the source of many natural products such as fibers, essential oils, natural dyes, pigments, waxes, tannins, latex, gums, resins, alkaloids, amber and cork. Products derived from plants include soaps, paints, shampoos, perfumes, cosmetics, turpentine, rubber, varnish, lubricants, linoleum, plastics, inks, chewing gum and hemp rope. Plants are also a primary source of basic chemicals for the industrial synthesis of a vast array of organic chemicals. These chemicals are used in a vast variety of studies and experiments.

Aesthetic uses

Thousands of plant species are cultivated for aesthetic purposes as well as to provide shade, modify temperatures, reduce wind, abate noise, provide privacy, and prevent soil erosion. People use cut flowers, dried flowers and houseplants indoors or in greenhouses. In outdoor gardens, lawn grasses, shade trees, ornamental trees, shrubs, vines, herbaceous perennials and bedding plants are used. Images of plants are often used in art, architecture, humor, language, and photography and on textiles, money, stamps, flags and coats of arms. Living plant art forms include topiary, bonsai, ikebana and espalier. Ornamental plants have sometimes changed the course of history, as in tulipomania. Plants are the basis of a multi-billion dollar per year tourism industry which includes travel to arboretums, botanical gardens, historic gardens, national parks, tulip festivals, rainforests, forests with colorful autumn leaves and the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Venus Flytrap, sensitive plant and resurrection plant are examples of plants sold as novelties.

Scientific and cultural uses

Tree rings are an important method of dating in archeology and serve as a record of past climates. Basic biological research has often been done with plants, such as the pea plants used to derive Gregor Mendel's laws of genetics. Space stations or space colonies may one day rely on plants for life support. Plants are used as national and state emblems, including state trees and state flowers. Ancient trees are revered and many are famous. Numerous world records are held by plants. Plants are often used as memorials, gifts and to mark special occasions such as births, deaths, weddings and holidays. Plants figure prominently in mythology, religion and literature. The field of ethnobotany studies plant use by indigenous cultures which helps to conserve endangered species as well as discover new medicinal plants. Gardening is the most popular leisure activity in the U.S. Working with plants or horticulture therapy is beneficial for rehabilitating people with disabilities. Certain plants contain psychotropic chemicals which are extracted and ingested, including tobacco, cannabis (marijuana), and opium.

Negative effects

Weeds are plants that grow where people do not want them. People have spread plants beyond their native ranges and some of these introduced plants become invasive, damaging existing ecosystems by displacing native species. Invasive plants cause billions of dollars in crop losses annually by displacing crop plants, they increase the cost of production and the use of chemical means to control them affects the environment.

Plants may cause harm to animals, including people. Plants that produce windblown pollen invoke allergic reactions in people who suffer from hay fever. A wide variety of plants are poisonous. Toxalbumins are plant poisons fatal to most mammals and act as a serious deterrent to consumption. Several plants cause skin irritations when touched, such as poison ivy. Certain plants contain psychotropic chemicals, which are extracted and ingested or smoked, including tobacco, cannabis (marijuana), cocaine and opium. Smoking causes damage to health or even death, while some drugs may also be harmful or fatal to people.^[34][35] Both illegal and legal drugs derived from plants may have negative effects on the economy, affecting worker productivity and law enforcement costs.^[36][37] Some plants cause allergic reactions when ingested, while other plants cause food intolerances that negatively affect health.

See also

Plants portal

• The Plant List
• Biosphere
• Leaf sensor
• Plant defense against herbivory
• Plant perception (paranormal)
• Plant perception (physiology)
• Plant identification
• Rapid plant movement
• Biological exponential growth
• Germination

References

1. ^ Haeckel G (1866). Generale Morphologie der Organismen. Berlin: Verlag von Georg Reimer. pp. vol.1: i–xxxii, 1–574, pls I–II; vol. 2: i–clx, 1–462, pls I–VIII. 
2. ^ http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/summarystatistics/2010_1RL_Stats_Table_1.pdf
3. ^ "plant[2 - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary"]. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plant%5B2%5D. Retrieved 2009-03-25. 
4. ^ "plant (life form) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia". http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/463192/plant. Retrieved 2009-03-25. 
5. ^ Based on Rogozin, I.B.; Basu, M.K.; Csürös, M. & Koonin, E.V. (2009), "Analysis of Rare Genomic Changes Does Not Support the Unikont–Bikont Phylogeny and Suggests Cyanobacterial Symbiosis as the Point of Primary Radiation of Eukaryotes", Genome Biology and Evolution 1: 99–113, doi:10.1093/gbe/evp011, PMC 2817406, PMID 20333181  and Becker, B. & Marin, B. (2009), "Streptophyte algae and the origin of embryophytes", Annals of Botany 103 (7): 999–1004, doi:10.1093/aob/mcp044, PMC 2707909, PMID 19273476 ; see also the slightly different cladogram in Lewis, Louise A. & McCourt, R.M. (2004), "Green algae and the origin of land plants", Am. J. Bot. 91 (10): 1535–1556, doi:10.3732/ajb.91.10.1535, PMID 21652308 .
6. ^ Margulis, L. (1974). "Five-kingdom classification and the origin and evolution of cells". Evolutionary Biology 7: 45–78. 
7. ^ ^{a b c d e} Raven, Peter H., Ray F. Evert, & Susan E. Eichhorn, 2005. Biology of Plants, 7th edition. (New York: W. H. Freeman and Company). ISBN 0-7167-1007-2.
8. ^ Lewis, Louise A. & McCourt, R.M. (2004), "Green algae and the origin of land plants", Am. J. Bot. 91 (10): 1535–1556, doi:10.3732/ajb.91.10.1535, PMID 21652308 
9. ^ ^{a b} Becker, B. & Marin, B. (2009), "Streptophyte algae and the origin of embryophytes", Annals of Botany 103 (7): 999–1004, doi:10.1093/aob/mcp044, PMC 2707909, PMID 19273476 
10. ^ Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. (2007). "Phylum: Chlorophyta taxonomy browser". AlgaeBase version 4.2 World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org/browse/taxonomy/?id=4307. Retrieved 2007-09-23. 
11. ^ Van den Hoek, C., D. G. Mann, & H. M. Jahns, 1995. Algae: An Introduction to Phycology. pages 343, 350, 392, 413, 425, 439, & 448 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). ISBN 0-521-30419-9
12. ^ Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. (2011), AlgaeBase : Chlorophyta, World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway, http://www.algaebase.org/browse/taxonomy/?searching=true&gettaxon=Chlorophyta, retrieved 2011-07-26 
13. ^ Guiry, M.D. & Guiry, G.M. (2011), AlgaeBase : Charophyta, World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway, http://www.algaebase.org/browse/taxonomy/?searching=true&gettaxon=Charophyta, retrieved 2011-07-26 
14. ^ Van den Hoek, C., D. G. Mann, & H. M. Jahns, 1995. Algae: An Introduction to Phycology. pages 457, 463, & 476. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). ISBN 0-521-30419-9
15. ^ Crandall-Stotler, Barbara. & Stotler, Raymond E., 2000. "Morphology and classification of the Marchantiophyta". page 21 in A. Jonathan Shaw & Bernard Goffinet (Eds.), Bryophyte Biology. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press). ISBN 0-521-66097-1
16. ^ Schuster, Rudolf M., The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America, volume VI, pages 712-713. (Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1992). ISBN 0-914868-21-7.
17. ^ Goffinet, Bernard; William R. Buck (2004). "Systematics of the Bryophyta (Mosses): From molecules to a revised classification". Monographs in Systematic Botany (Missouri Botanical Garden Press) 98: 205–239. 
18. ^ Gifford, Ernest M. & Adriance S. Foster, 1988. Morphology and Evolution of Vascular Plants, 3rd edition, page 358. (New York: W. H. Freeman and Company). ISBN 0-7167-1946-0.
19. ^ Taylor, Thomas N. & Edith L. Taylor, 1993. The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants, page 636. (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall). ISBN 0-13-651589-4.
20. ^ International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:Summary Statistics
21. ^ "The oldest fossils reveal evolution of non-vascular plants by the middle to late Ordovician Period (~450-440 m.y.a.) on the basis of fossil spores" Transition of plants to land
22. ^ "The apparent dominance of eukaryotes in non-marine settings by 1 Gyr ago indicates that eukaryotic evolution on land may have commenced far earlier than previously thought." Earth’s earliest non-marine eukaryotes
23. ^ Rothwell, G. W.; Scheckler, S. E.; Gillespie, W. H. (1989). "Elkinsia gen. nov., a Late Devonian gymnosperm with cupulate ovules". Botanical Gazette 150 (2): 170–189. doi:10.1086/337763. 
24. ^ Kenrick, Paul & Peter R. Crane. 1997. The Origin and Early Diversification of Land Plants: A Cladistic Study. (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press). ISBN 1-56098-730-8.
25. ^ Smith Alan R., Pryer Kathleen M., Schuettpelz E., Korall P., Schneider H., Wolf Paul G. (2006). "A classification for extant ferns" (PDF). Taxon 55 (3): 705–731. doi:10.2307/25065646. http://www.pryerlab.net/publication/fichier749.pdf. 
26. ^ ^{a b} Robbins, W.W., Weier, T.E., et al., Botany:Plant Science, 3rd edition , Wiley International, New York, 1965.
27. ^ Goyal, K., Walton, L. J., & Tunnacliffe, A. (2005). "LEA proteins prevent protein aggregation due to water stress". Biochemical Journal 388 (Part 1): 151–157. doi:10.1042/BJ20041931. PMC 1186703. PMID 15631617. Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. http://www.webcitation.org/5il9QhYT0. 
28. ^ ^{a b} Campbell, Reece, Biology, 7th edition, Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, 2005.
29. ^ BBC Report
30. ^ Song, W.Y. et al. (1995). "A receptor kinase-like protein encoded by the rice disease resistance gene, XA21". Science 270 (5243): 1804–1806. doi:10.1126/science.270.5243.1804. PMID 8525370. 
31. ^ Gomez-Gomez, L. et al. (2000). "FLS2: an LRR receptor-like kinase involved in the perception of the bacterial elicitor flagellin in Arabidopsis". Molecular Cell 5 (6): 1003–1011. doi:10.1016/S1097-2765(00)80265-8. PMID 10911994. 
32. ^ Howard Frank, Bromeliad Phytotelmata, October 2000
33. ^ Barthlott, W., S. Porembski, R. Seine, and I. Theisen. 2007. The Curious World of Carnivorous Plants: A Comprehensive Guide to Their Biology and Cultivation. Timber Press: Portland, Oregon.
34. ^ "cocaine/crack". http://www.urban75.com/Drugs/drugcoke.html. 
35. ^ "Deaths related to cocaine". http://ar2005.emcdda.europa.eu/en/page050-en.html. 
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37. ^ "The social cost of illegal drug consumption in Spain". http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/add/2002/00000097/00000009/art00012. 

Further reading

General

• Evans, L. T. (1998). Feeding the Ten Billion - Plants and Population Growth. Cambridge University Press. Paperback, 247 pages. ISBN 0-521-64685-5.
• Kenrick, Paul & Crane, Peter R. (1997). The Origin and Early Diversification of Land Plants: A Cladistic Study. Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 1-56098-730-8.
• Raven, Peter H., Evert, Ray F., & Eichhorn, Susan E. (2005). Biology of Plants (7th ed.). New York: W. H. Freeman and Company. ISBN 0-7167-1007-2.
• Taylor, Thomas N. & Taylor, Edith L. (1993). The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-651589-4.
• Trewavas A (2003). "Aspects of Plant Intelligence". Annals of Botany 92: 1–20. http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/92/1/1. 

Species estimates and counts

• International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (2004). IUCN Red List [1].
• Prance G. T. (2001). "Discovering the Plant World". Taxon 50: 345–359. 

External links

Find more about Plants on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks
	Species directories from Wikispecies

The Wikibook Dichotomous Key has a page on the topic of Plantae

• Jones, T. M., Reid, C. S., Urbatsch, L. E. Visual study of divisional Plantae. http://www.herbarium.lsu.edu/keys/aca/.  (requires Microsoft Silverlight)
• Plant at the Encyclopedia of Life
• Chaw, S.-M. et al. (1997). "Molecular Phylogeny of Extant Gymnosperms and Seed Plant Evolution: Analysis of Nuclear 18s rRNA Sequences". Molec. Biol. Evol. 14 (1): 56–68. PMID 9000754. http://mbe.library.arizona.edu/data/1997/1401/7chaw.pdf. 
• Index Nominum Algarum
• Interactive Cronquist classification
• Plant Photo Gallery of Japan - Flavon's Wild herb and Alpine plants
• Plant Picture Gallery
• Plant Resources of Tropical Africa
• www.prota.org - PROTA’s mission
• Tree of Life

Botanical and vegetation databases

• African Plants Initiative database
• Australia
• Chilean plants at Chilebosque
• Dave's garden plenty of information mostly about garden plants
• e-Floras (Flora of China, Flora of North America and others)
• Flora Europaea
• Flora of Central Europe (German)
• Flora of North America
• List of Japanese Wild Plants Online
• Meet the Plants-National Tropical Botanical Garden
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Native Plant Information Network at University of Texas, Austin
• The Plant List
• United States Department of Agriculture not limited to continental US species

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v t e Eukaryota Domain : Archaea · Bacteria · Eukaryota Bikonta AH/SAR AH Archaeplastida, or Plantae sensu lato Viridiplantae/Plantae sensu stricto · Rhodophyta · Glaucophyta Hacrobia, or non-SAR chromalveolata Haptophyta · Cryptophyta · Centroheliozoa SAR Halvaria Heterokont ("S") Ochrophyta · Bigyra · Pseudofungi Alveolata Ciliates · Myzozoa (Apicomplexa, Dinoflagellata) Rhizaria Cercozoa · Retaria (Foraminifera, Radiolaria) Excavata Discoba (Euglenozoa, Percolozoa, Loukozoa) · Metamonad · Malawimonas Apusozoa Apusomonadida (Apusomonas, Amastigomonas) · Ancyromonadida (Ancyromonas) · Hemimastigida (Hemimastix, Spironema, Stereonema) Unikonta Amoebozoa Lobosea · Conosa · Phalansterium · Breviata Opisthokonta Holozoa Mesomycetozoea Dermocystida · Ichthyophonida Filozoa Filasterea Capsaspora · Ministeria Choanoflagellate Codonosigidae · Salpingoecidae · Acanthoecidae Metazoa or "Animalia" Eumetazoa (Bilateria, Cnidaria, Ctenophora) · Mesozoa · Parazoa (Placozoa, Porifera) Holomycota Fungi Dikarya (Ascomycota, Basidiomycota) · Glomeromycota · Zygomycota · Blastocladiomycota · Chytridiomycota/Neocallimastigomycota · Microsporidia Nucleariidae Nuclearia · Micronuclearia · Rabdiophrys · Pinaciophora · Pompholyxophrys · Fonticula Unclassified Collodictyonidae Collodictyon triciliatum · Diphylleia rotans

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v t e Horticulture and gardening Gardening and Gardens Arboretum Butterfly gardening Forest gardening French intensive gardening Garden Garden design History of gardening Kitchen garden Landscape garden Native gardening Parterre Rain garden Raised bed gardening Roof garden Square foot gardening Sustainable gardening Therapeutic garden Tropical garden Wildlife garden Xeriscaping Horticulture Agriculture Aquaponics Arboriculture Botany Companion planting Crop Floriculture Fruticulture Horticultural flora Indigenous horticulture Intercropping Landscape architecture Oenology Olericulture Plant Plant breeding Plant propagation Postharvest physiology Stock-free agriculture Sustainable agriculture Tropical horticulture Urban agriculture Urban horticulture Viticulture Organic Biodynamic agriculture List of organic gardening and farming topics Vegan organic gardening Plant protection Fungicide Herbicide Index of pesticide articles List of fungicides Pesticide Plant disease forecasting Weed control Agriculture and Agronomy portal Gardening portal Commons

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - plante, lille østers, inventar, fabrik
v. tr. - plante, udsætte, oprette, lade i stikken

idioms:

• plant kingdom    planterige

Nederlands (Dutch)
plant, fabriek, heimelijk geplaatst compromitterend bewijs, spion/infiltrant, het planten, geplant iets, planten, (zich) plaatsen, stationeren, (ideeën etc.) in iemands hoofd zetten, toebrengen (klap etc.), compromitterend bewijs heimelijk plaatsen, begraven, bevolken/ koloniseren, vestigen

Français (French)
n. - (Bot, Hort, gén) plante, (Ind) usine, (Ind) installations industrielles et commerciales, centrale, matériel, taupe (personne), faux indice
v. tr. - planter, semer, placer (un explosif), planter (un couteau), donner (une idée), jeter (un doute)

idioms:

• plant kingdom    le règne végétal

Deutsch (German)
n. - Pflanze, Fabrik, Anlage, Spitzel, Intrige
v. - pflanzen, setzen, anlegen, (ein)schmuggeln

idioms:

• plant kingdom    Pflanzenreich

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - φυτό, υλικός εξοπλισμός, μηχανήματα, (βιομηχανικές κ.λπ.) εγκαταστάσεις, εργοστάσιο, εργοστασιακό συγκρότημα, (καθομ.) χαφιές, βαλτός, εγκάθετος
v. - φυτεύω, βάζω, χώνω, στυλώνω, καρφώνω, εγκαθιστώ, τοποθετώ

idioms:

• plant kingdom    φυτικό βασίλειο

Italiano (Italian)
piantare, pianta, fabbrica, vegetale

idioms:

• plant kingdom    regno vegetale

Português (Portuguese)
n. - planta (f), fábrica (f)
v. - plantar, implantar, estabelecer, cultivar

idioms:

• plant kingdom    reino vegetal

Русский (Russian)
сажать, внедрить, растение, завод

idioms:

• plant kingdom    флора

Español (Spanish)
n. - planta, vegetal, fábrica
v. tr. - plantar, sembrar

idioms:

• plant kingdom    reino vegetal

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - planta, växt, anläggning, fabrik, verk, hemligt placera ngt/ngn, skörd, ställning, pose, maskinpark
v. - plantera, sätta, inplantera, grunda, anlägga, dölja, placera ut för att lura ngn, lämna i sticket

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
植物, 工厂, 庄稼, 种植, 培养, 栽培

idioms:

• plant kingdom    植物界

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 植物, 工廠, 莊稼
v. tr. - 種植, 培養, 栽培

idioms:

• plant kingdom    植物界

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 식물, 공장
v. tr. - 심다, (사상 등을) 주입하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 植物, 草, 機械設備, おとり, ぺてん, 工場, プラント, 作物, 設備
v. - 植える, 置く, 配置する, 建設する, 植え付ける, 預けていく, 打ち込む

idioms:

• plant kingdom    植物界

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نبات, نبته, غرسه, مصنع, وحدة صناعيه, منشآت (فعل) بذر, يزرع, يسدد, يثبت, يرسخ‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮צמח, שתיל, מפעל, בית-חרושת, סוכן שתול, מיתקן, ציוד, רמאות‬
v. tr. - ‮נטע, זרע, שתל, השריש, תקע, הנחית, ייסד, יישב, שתל (סוכן), הסתיר מידע מפליל‬

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