Plant Diversity
Five Kingdom System
Kingdom
Kingdom
Kingdom
Kingdom
Kingdom
Monera
Protista
Planta
Fungi
Animalia
F
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Protista
Monera
Kingdom Monera
Contains the bacteria and cyanobacteria
The only kingdom in which the cells are
prokaryotic
 Recent trend to split into two kingdoms
Eubacteria
Archebacteria
Kingdom Protista
Unicellular and simple multicellular
organisms
Plant-like protists - all the algae
Fungal-like protists - slime molds and
water molds
Animal-like protists - protozoa
Kingdom Planta
Land plants
Autotrophic manufacturing food through
photosynthesis
Mosses, Ferns and Fern-allies,
Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms
Kingdom Fungi
Heterotrophic - cannot make their own
food and rely on external sources of
nutrition
The fungi, from molds to mushrooms,
are absorptive heterotrophs,
secreting enzymes into their
surroundings that break down food
which is then absorbed
Kingdom Animalia
Heterotrophic - cannot make their own
food and rely on external sources of
nutrition
Animals, from primitive sponges to highly
evolved mammals, are ingestive
heterotrophs, engulfing their food and
digesting it internally
Organisms traditionally
studied by botanists
Found in four of the five kingdoms
Monera - blue-green algae
Protista - all the other algae
Plantae - all the land plants
Fungi - all the fungi
Kingdom Monera
Cyanobacteria - blue green algae
Photosynthetic, prokaryotic organisms
Found in oceans, fresh water, and terrestrial
environments
Used as a food source: Nostoc, Spirulina (since
ancient times - today high protein additive)
Microscopic unicells, filaments, and colonies
First appeared in fossil record 3.5 billion yrs ago
Toxins can cause problems during blooms
Nostoc
Oscillatoria
Kingdom Protista
Six divisions of algae:
Division
Division
Division
Division
Division
Division
Pyrrophyta - dinoflagellates
Chrysophyta - diatoms
Euglenophyta - euglenoids
Chlorophyta - green algae
Rhodophyta - red algae
Phaeophyta - brown algae
Two divisions of fungi
Dinoflagellates
Unicellular algae covered with cellulose
plates giving an armored appearance
Important to the food chain in marine
and fresh water
Some marine species cause Red Tides
Population explosion
Color the water red
Produce a powerful toxin
Pfiesteria newly recognized problem
Dinoflagellates
Diatoms & Golden Brown
Algae
Diatoms abundant
and important
economically
Important to the
food chain in marine
and fresh water
Unicells with siliconbased wall with
pits, grooves
Diatomaceous earth
Walls of the dead diatoms used
commercially
Deposits from past geological ages are
known as diatomaceous earth
Uses of diatomaceous earth
polishing agent in silver polish
filter in wine and petroleum industries
soil additive to discourage some garden pests
Green Algae
Contains many morphological types
Abundant and diverse in fresh water
Play a significant role in aquatic food
chains
Seasonal blooms of green algae are often
noticeable in ponds and lakes
Gave rise to the land plants over 400
million yrs ago
Red Alage
Seaweeds - large multicellular marine
algae occurring in coastal waters often
attached to rocks
Highly branched filaments with a
feathery appearance or sheet-like
Many used as a food source
Carrageenan and agar: cell wall
carbohydrates used as stabilizing agents
Products from red algae
Carrageenan used in ice cream,
pudding, cottage cheese, toothpaste,
lotions, and paints - imparts a creamy
texture
Agar used in a variety of commercial
products - most important use is as a
solidifying agent in culture media used in
to grow bacteria, fungi, and for plant
tissue culture
Brown Algae
Seaweeds - large multicellular marine algae
occurring in coastal waters often attached to
rocks
Huge kelps form extensive underwater
"forests" off the California coast - among the
largest plants on Earth
Rockweeds commonly found in the intertidal
zone in coastal areas - east coast and west
Complex form: holdfast, stipe, and blade
KELP - common
name for several
brown seaweeds
Products from brown algae
Some used directly as a food source
Alginic acids (alginates)
Used in the treatment of latex during tire
manufacturing
binding agent for charcoal briquettes
confections, ice cream and other products
where it acts similarly to carrageenan
Seaweed in our diet
Red and brown seaweeds have long history a
source of food, especially in the Orient
Over 100 species of marine algae are eaten in
one form or another
Some favorite red seaweeds are dulse
(Rhodymenia) and nori (Porphyra)
Porphyra used by more cultures than any other
seaweed, has a long history of food use dating
back to the year 533 - cultivation since 1600s
Algal Bloom
Kingdom Planta
10 divisions of plants
can group these into 4 groups
mosses and liverworts ( one division)
ferns and fern-allies (four divisions)
gymnosperms (four divisions)
angiosperms (one division)
Bryophytes: mosses &
liverworts
Small plants, no vascular tissue
Reproduce by spores formed in a sporangium
Dominant generation is the gametophyte with
the sporophyte short-lived
Restricted to moist environments
Sphagnum (peat moss) grows in acid water
and used as a soil additive and fuel
Moss
Liverwort
Lower Vascular Plants:
Ferns and fern-allies
Reproduce by spores formed in a
sporangium
Long fossil history
Four divisions
whisk ferns
club mosses
horsetails
ferns
Psilotum or whisk
ferns - very
primitive plant
that resembles first
land plants that
existed 400 million
years ago
No leaves or roots only a branched
stem
Club Moss
Horsetails (Equisetum)
Ferns - About 10,000
species exist from
tropics to arctic.
Typically ferns have
compound leaves.
Gymnosperms
Vascular plants, many are large - include
largest organisms on Earth
Reproduce by seeds
Dominant sporophyte, gametophytes are
microscopic
Long fossil history
Four divisions of living gymnosperms
Gymnosperms
Division
Division
Division
Division
Coniferophyta - Conifers
Ginkgophyta - Ginkgo
Cycadophyta - Cycads
Gnetophyta - Ephedra and allies
Leaves of a Ginkgo tree
Conifers
Includes the biggest, tallest, and oldest living
organisms
Separate male and female cones
Seed produces in female cones
Pollen produced in male cones
Economically important for lumber and paper
Pine (Pinaceae) and cedar (Cupressaceae)
are the two largest families
Redwood trees are the largest
organisms on Earth
Angiosperms
Flowering plants
Most widespread
vegetation on Earth
today
Greatest economic
use
Fungi
Generally have a thread-like body
Hypha - single filament or thread
Mycelium - all the hyphae of a colony
Reproduce by spores - usually airborne
Fungal-like organisms in Kingdom Protista
True fungi in the Kingdom Fungi
Fungal-like organisms in
Kingdom Protista
Slime molds
Slimy (animal-like) feeding stage
Reproduce by spores
Water molds
Many in fresh water others on land
Important plant pathogens in this group
Kingdom Fungi
Includes yeasts, molds, mildews and
other microfungi
Also includes mushrooms, bracket fungi,
puffballs, and other macrofungi
Fungi
Include many plant pathogens
Majority are saprobic and recycle organic
material
Fungi include molds and mushrooms
Summary
Living organisms are classified into five
kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Animalia,
Planta, and Fungi
Organisms traditionally known as plants
are found in four of the five kingdoms