Question

Which criteria are used for the classification of plants? Explain with reasons. 

Answer 1

The presence or absence of organs is the first criterion for the classification of plants. The presence or absence of separate conducting tissues for the conduction of water and food is the next consideration for classification. Do the plants bear seeds? If they do then, whether the seeds are enclosed in a fruit or not is also an important criterion for classification. Finally, plants are grouped depending on the number of cotyledons in the seeds.

At the higher levels of plant classification, different characteristics are considered for classification, e.g. depending upon the absence or presence of flowers, fruits and seeds, plants are classified as cryptogams or phanerogams. Depending upon whether seeds are enclosed within a fruit or not, phanerogams are classified as gymnosperms and angiosperms. Angiosperms are further classified as monocots or dicots depending upon the number of cotyledons in seeds.