By: Tarangi, Kim, and Jordan

Examples Ferns date back to the Devonian. They include three main living groups, Marattiales, Ophioglossales, and leptosporanglate ferns. Not to mention a few extinct groups. One additional group of ferns is the Psilotates group, but it is so different from living ferns no one is really sure if it is connected to the other types of ferns. Flowering Plants (roses, tulips, etc.) The largest group of plants in the plant kingdom is the Anthopyta. This group includes the flower. Many people may not know this, but flowers affect our lives everyday. Almost all of our food comes from flowering plants; grains, beans, nuts, fruits, and vegetables are just few examples. Flowers are very important to our lives.

Example Grasses- Another group in the plant kingdom is the Glumiflorae, which is made up of grasses, sedges, rushes, and cattails. Although you might find this hard to believe, plants in this group are also considered flowering plants. The glumiflorae is the second largest group of plants, right next to the Anthopyta. The plants in this group provide us with corn, rice, wheat, and barley. This group is also very important to humanity.

3 Adaptations Bark- in drier, temperate deciduous forests a type of thick bark helps to stop moisture evaporation from the tree’s trunk. But the trees in the high humidity of tropical rainforests have a thin, smooth bark because moisture evaporation is not a concern there. This is one example of adaptation. Lianas- Lianas are those woody vines that drape rainforest trees. They have adapted to rainforest life by having their roots in the ground and climbing up tall trees to reach sunlight. Many lianas start their life up in the rainforest canopy and send their roots down to the ground.

Adaptation Drip tips- The leaves on forest trees have adapted to withstand exceptionally high rainfall. Tropical trees have leaves with drip tips-these help enable rain drops to run off leaves more quickly. Plants need drip tips because they need to shed water to avoid fungus and bacteria growth in wet, tropical places.

Interesting Facts Oldest plant fossils are over 400,000,000 years old. Almost all plants make their own food through the process of photosynthesis. Provide most of the world’s organisms with food and shelter. Most produce their own food.

Interesting Facts About 260,000 species of plants exist throughout the world. Mosses are the smallest members of the plant kingdom. Sequoia trees, which grow 300 feet tall, are the largest members. Many plants are used to make medicines such as anti-inflammatory medications, cancer treatments, anti-Parkinson’s antibiotics, and anticholinergic and antidepressant drugs.

Complex or Simple? We feel that the plant kingdom is simple because it contains a lot of plants we are familiar with.