Vascular plant

Vascular plants (from Latin vasculum: duct), also known as tracheophytes (from the equivalent
Greek term trachea) and also as higher plants, form a large group of plants (c. 308,312 accepted
Vascular plants
known species[5]) that are defined as those land plants that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for Temporal range: Middle Silurian –
conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They also have a specialized non-lignified tissue Holocene ,[1] 425–0 Ma [2]
(the phloem) to conduct products of photosynthesis. Vascular plants include the clubmosses,
PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K PgN
horsetails, ferns, gymnosperms (including conifers) and angiosperms (flowering plants). Scientific
names for the group include Tracheophyta[6][4]:251 and Tracheobionta.[7]

Contents
Characteristics
Phylogeny
Athyrium filix-femina
Nutrient distribution
Transpiration Scientific classification
Absorption
Conduction Clade: Embryophytes
See also Clade: Polysporangiophytes
References Clade: Tracheophytes
Bibliography Sinnott, 1935 [3] ex Cavalier-
Smith, 1998 [4]

Characteristics Divisions
† Extinct
Vascular plants are distinguished by two primarycharacteristics:

1. Vascular plants have vascular tissues which distribute resources through the plant.This Non-seed-bearing plants
feature allows vascular plants to evolve to a larger size thannon-vascular plants, which
lack these specialized conducting tissues and are therefore restricted to relatively small †Cooksonia
sizes.
2. In vascular plants, the principalgeneration phase is the sporophyte, which is usually †Rhyniophyta
diploid with two sets of chromosomes per cell. Only the germ cells and gametophytes
are haploid. By contrast, the principal generation phase in non-vascular plants is the †Zosterophyllophyta
gametophyte, which is haploid with one set of chromosomes per cell. In these plants,
only the spore stalk and capsule are diploid. Lycopodiophyta
The formal definition of the division Tracheophyta encompasses both these characteristics in the †Trimerophytophyta
Latin phrase "facies diploida xylem et phloem instructa" (diploid phase with xylem and Pteridophyta
phloem).[4]:251
†Progymnospermophyta
One possible mechanism for the presumed switch from emphasis on the haploid generation to
Superdivision Spermatophyta
emphasis on the diploid generation is the greater efficiency in spore dispersal with more complex
diploid structures. In other words, elaboration of the spore stalk enabled the production of more †Pteridospermatophyta
spores, and enabled the development of the ability to release them higher and to broadcast them
Pinophyta
farther. Such developments may include more photosynthetic area for the spore-bearing structure, the
ability to grow independent roots, woody structure for support, and more branching. Cycadophyta
Ginkgophyta
Phylogeny Gnetophyta
A proposed phylogeny of the vascular plants after Kenrick and Crane[8] is as follows, with Angiosperms
modification to the gymnosperms from Christenhusz et al. (2011a),[9] Pteridophyta from Smith et (Magnoliophyta)
al.[10] and lycophytes and ferns by Christenhuszet al. (2011b) [11]

Polysporangiates Tracheophytes Eutracheophytes Euphyllophytina Lignophytes Spermatophytes

Pteridospermatophyta † (seed ferns)

Cycadophyta (cycads)
 Pinophyta (conifers)
Gymnospe
Ginkgophyta (ginkgo)

Gnetophyta

Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)

Progymnospermophyta†

Pteridopsida (true ferns)

Marattiopsida

Pteridophyta Equisetopsida (horsetails)

Psilotopsida (whisk ferns & adders'-tongues)

Cladoxylopsida †

Lycopodiophyta
Lycophytina
Zosterophyllophyta †

Rhyniophyta †

Aglaophyton †

Horneophytopsida †

This phylogeny is supported by several molecular studies.[10][12][13] Other researchers state that taking fossils into account leads to different
[14]
conclusions, for example that the ferns (Pteridophyta) are not monophyletic.

Nutrient distribution
Water and nutrients in the form of inorganic solutes are drawn up from the soil by the
roots and transported throughout the plant by the xylem. Organic compounds such as
sucrose produced by photosynthesis in leaves are distributed by the phloem sieve tube
elements.

The xylem consists of vessels in flowering plants and tracheids in other vascular plants,
which are dead hard-walled hollow cells arranged to form files of tubes that function in
water transport. A tracheid cell wall usually contains the polymer lignin. The phloem
however consists of living cells called sieve-tube members. Between the sieve-tube
members are sieve plates, which have pores to allow molecules to pass through. Sieve- Photographs showing xylem elements in the shoot
tube members lack such organs as nuclei or ribosomes, but cells next to them, the of a fig tree (Ficus alba): crushed in hydrochloric
companion cells, function to keep the sieve-tube members alive. acid, between slides and cover slips.

Transpiration
The most abundant compound in all plants, as in all cellular organisms, is water which serves an important structural role and a vital role in plant
metabolism. Transpiration is the main process of water movement within plant tissues. Water is constantly transpired from the plant through its stomata
to the atmosphere and replaced by soil water taken up by the roots. The movement of water out of the leaf stomata creates a transpiration pull or tension
in the water column in the xylem vessels or tracheids. The pull is the result of water surface tension within the cell walls of the mesophyll cells, from the
surfaces of which evaporation takes place when the stomata are open. Hydrogen bonds exist between water molecules, causing them to line up; as the
molecules at the top of the plant evaporate, each pulls the next one up to replace it, which in turn pulls on the next one in line. The draw of water
upwards may be entirely passive and can be assisted by the movement of water into the roots via osmosis. Consequently, transpiration requires very little
energy to be used by the plant. Transpiration assists the plant in absorbing nutrients from the soil as solublesalts.
Absorption
Living root cells passively absorb water in the absence of transpiration pull via osmosis creating root pressure. It is possible for there to be no
evapotranspiration and therefore no pull of water towards the shoots and leaves. This is usually due to high temperatures, high humidity, darkness or
drought.

Conduction
Xylem and phloem tissues are involved in the conduction processes within plants. Sugars are conducted throughout the plant in the phloem, water and
other nutrients through the xylem. Conduction occurs from a source to a sink for each separate nutrient. Sugars are produced in the leaves (a source) by
photosynthesis and transported to the growing shoots and roots (sinks) for use in growth, cellular respiration or storage. Minerals are absorbed in the
[15]
roots (a source) and transported to the shoots to allow cell division and growth.

See also
Fern allies
Non-vascular plant

References
1. D. Edwards; Feehan, J. (1980). "Records ofCooksonia-type sporangia from late Wenlock strata in Ireland". Nature. 287 (5777): 41–
42. doi:10.1038/287041a0 (https://doi.org/10.1038/287041a0).
2. Parfrey, Laura Wegener; Lahr, Daniel J. G.; Knoll, Andrew H.; Katz, Laura A. (August 16, 2011)."Estimating the timing of early
eukaryotic diversification with multigene molecular clocks"(http://www.pnas.org/content/108/33/13624.abstract). Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 108 (33): 13624–13629. doi:10.1073/pnas.1110633108(https://doi.or
g/10.1073/pnas.1110633108). PMC 3158185 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3158185) . PMID 21810989 (https://ww
w.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21810989).
3. Sinnott, E. W. 1935. Botany. Principles and Problems, 3d edition. McGraw-Hill, New York.
4. Cavalier-Smith, T. (1998), "A revised six-kingdom system of life"(https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/ee41/d705db1da8998a988671d085
ed5ee97186b7.pdf) (PDF), Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society , 73: 203–266
5. Christenhusz, M. J. M. & Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase"
(http://biotax
a.org/Phytotaxa/article/download/phytotaxa.261.3.1/20598). Phytotaxa. Magnolia Press. 261 (3): 201–217.
doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1(https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1).
6. Abercrombie, Hickman & Johnson. 1966.A Dictionary of Biology. (Penguin Books
7. "ITIS Standard Report Page: Tracheobionta" (https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=5648
24). Retrieved September 20, 2013.
8. 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.
9. Christenhusz, Maarten J. M.; Reveal, James L.; Farjon, Aljos; Gardner
, Martin F.; Mill, R.R.; Chase, Mark W. (2011). "A new
classification and linear sequence of extant gymnosperms"(http://www.mapress.com/phytotaxa/content/2011/f/pt00019p070.pdf)
(PDF). Phytotaxa. 19: 55–70.
10. Smith, Alan R.; Pryer, Kathleen M.; Schuettpelz, E.; Korall, P.; Schneider, H.; Wolf, Paul G. (2006). "A classification for extant ferns"(ht
tp://www.pryerlab.net/publication/fichier749.pdf) (PDF). Taxon. 55 (3): 705–731. doi:10.2307/25065646 (https://doi.org/10.2307/25065
646).
11. Christenhusz, Maarten J. M.; Zhang, Xian-Chun; Schneider, Harald (2011). "A linear sequence of extant families and genera of
lycophytes and ferns" (http://www.mapress.com/phytotaxa/content/2011/f/pt00019p054.pdf)(PDF). Phytotaxa. 19: 7–54.
12. Pryer, K. M.; Schneider, H.; Smith, AR; Cranfill, R; Wolf, PG; Hunt, JS; Sipes, SD (2001). "Horsetails and ferns are a monophyletic
group and the closest living relatives to seed plants".Nature. 409 (6820): 618–22. doi:10.1038/35054555 (https://doi.org/10.1038/3505
4555). PMID 11214320 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11214320).
13. Pryer, K. M.; Schuettpelz, E.; Wolf, P. G.; Schneider, H.; Smith, A. R.; Cranfill, R. (2004). "Phylogeny and evolution of ferns
(monilophytes) with a focus on the early leptosporangiate divergences". American Journal of Botany. 91: 1582–1598.
doi:10.3732/ajb.91.10.1582(https://doi.org/10.3732/ajb.91.10.1582).
14. Rothwell, G.W. & Nixon, K.C. (2006). "How Does the Inclusion of Fossil Data Change Our Conclusions about the Phylogenetic History
of Euphyllophytes?". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 167 (3): 737–749. doi:10.1086/503298 (https://doi.org/10.1086/503298)
15. Chapters 5, 6 and 10 Taiz and Zeiger Plant Physiology 3rd Edition SINAUER 2002

Bibliography
Cracraft, Joel; Donoghue, Michael J., eds. (2004). Assembling the Tree of Life. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-972960-9.
 Cantino, Philip D.; Doyle, James A.; Graham, Sean W
.; Judd, Walter S.; Olmstead, Richard G.;Soltis, Douglas E.; Soltis, Pamela S.;
Donoghue, Michael J. (1 August 2007). "Towards a Phylogenetic Nomenclature of Tracheophyta". Taxon. 56 (3): 822.
doi:10.2307/25065865.
Kenrick, P. (29 June 2000). "The relationships of vascular plants". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological
Sciences. 355 (1398): 847–855. doi:10.1098/rstb.2000.0619. PMC 1692788 . PMID 10905613.
Pryer, Kathleen M.; Schneider, Harald; Magallon, Susana.The radiation of vascular plants(PDF). pp. 138–153., in Cracraft &
Donoghue (2004)

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