WANI Dictionary

Plant

Plants are the members of Archaeplastida, a major group of eukaryotes proposed by Adl et al. [3] based on molecular phylogeny data. This group contains photoautotrophic red algae (Rhodophyta), green algae, land plants, and glaucophytes.

In a traditional definition using morphological characteristics, plants are defined as the group of organisms that have the three traits: multicellular embryo, photosynthesis, and alteration of generations. However, some “plant” species have lost the ability of photosynthesis, which makes this definition not very useful.

Definitions in the literature

• Multicelled, typically photosynthetic organism; develops from an embryo that forms on the parent and is nourished by it [1].
• 1) In traditional classifications, any living organism of the kingdom Plantae, which includes the various groups of algae and the land plants, or embryophytes. ... 2) Any member of an assemblage of eukaryotic organisms- the Archaeplastida- recognized on the basis of recent molecular data [2].