Group | Common name | Characteristics |
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NONVASCULAR LAND PLANTS | | |
Hepatophyta | Liverworts | No stomata; gametophyte flat or leafy |
Bryophyta | Mosses | Filamentous stage; gametophyte leafy; sporophyte grows apically (at the tip) |
Anthocerophyta | Hornworts | Embedded archegonia; sporophyte grows basally (i.e., from the ground) |
VASCULAR PLANTS | | |
Lycopodiophyta | Lycophytes: Club mosses and allies | Microphylls in spirals; sporangia in leaf axils |
Monilophyta | Horsetails, ferns | Simple leaves in whorls or frondlike compound leaves |
Seed plants | | |
Gymnosperms | | |
Cycadophyta | Cycads | Compound leaves; swimming sperm; seeds on modified leaves |
Ginkgophyta | Ginkgo | Deciduous; fan-shaped leaves; swimming sperm |
Gnetophyta | Gnetophytes | Vessels in vascular tissue; opposite, simple leaves |
Coniferophyta | Conifers | Seeds in cones; needle- or scalelike leaves |
Angiosperms | Flowering plants | Endosperm; carpels; gametophytes much reduced; seeds contained within fruits |