VEGAN BOTANY

Plant Classification

Plant Kingdom (Plantae) – 280,000+ plant members.

❗Without bees, many of our plants will die.
Click Here to learn about plants to support bees and other beneficial pollinators.

Cryptogams are without seeds.

Phanerogams are with seeds.

Cryptogam (without seeds)
Algae (Chlorophyta) have no “true” leaves, stems, or roots.. Algae structures are called blades, fronds, and thalli.
Mosses and Liverworts (Bryophyta) have some leaf and root-like structures.
Ferns and Horsetails (Pteridophyta) have leaves, stems, and roots.

Phanerogam (with seeds)
Gymnosperm have no flowers.
◦ Conifers (Pinophyta) have needle-like leaves.
◦ Ginkgos (Ginkgophyta) and Cycads (Cycadophyta) have wide leaves.
Angiosperm (Magnoliophyta) have flowers.

Spermatophytes (Two different phanerogam classifications with seeds)

Gymnosperm is a plant with seeds that are unprotected, such as cones of conifers. Gymnosperms include the conifers, cycads, and ginkgo.

Angiosperm is a plant with seeds that are protected by a carpel (ovary, stigma, and usually a style). Most plants are Angiosperms, such as herbaceous plants, shrubs, grasses, and most trees.

Flowers

Flowers have some of or all four sexual organs: sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils.

Based on whether all of these four floral parts are present or anyone is absent, flowers are classified as either complete or incomplete.

Complete Flowers have all four sexual organs.
Incomplete Flowers do not have the complete four sexual organs.
Grasses (Gramineae or Poaceae family) are mainly wind-pollinated. The flowers are incomplete, without both sepals and petals. These flowers do not require pollinators due to being wind pollinated, and the plant does not require nectar production or vibrant colors to attract pollinators. An incomplete flower lacks any one or more of the following:
◦  Perfect flowers contains both male and female reproductive structures within the same flower. Perfect flowers are classified as Complete flowers.
◦  Imperfect flowers have either pistols or stamens.
◦  Pistillate flowers have only pistols (considered female flowers).
◦  Staminate flowers have only stamens (considered male flowers).