Vascular plants

General features of the land plants

Common name

Vascular plants

Synonyms

Tracheophyta

Growth habit

Multicellular: stems, leaves, and roots; thalloid gametophytes

Undulipodia (“flagella”)

Whiplash (2 to 1000+)

Conductive cells

Sieve cells, forming phloem (food), and tracheids, forming xylem (water)

Clonal reproduction

Vegetative, various multicellular propagules

Sexual reproduction

Homosporous or heterosporous

Included Phyla

Lycophyta, Psilotophyta, Sphenophyta, Pterophyta, Cycadophyta, Ginkgophyta, Coniferophyta, Gnetophyta, Anthophyta

Recognized by

Free-living, branched sporophytes; xylem

jcclark@csupomona.edu
© 2002 by Curtis Clark