| Group | Common name | Characteristics |
|---|
| 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 |