\[ **BT: [[eukaryotes]]** ] --- # plants Plants are the [[eukaryotes]] that comprise the kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria to produce sugars from carbon dioxide and water, using the green pigment chlorophyll.[^1] Exceptions are parasitic plants that have lost the genes for chlorophyll and photosynthesis, and obtain their energy from other plants or fungi. Most plants are multicellular, except for some green algae.[^2] - see also: [[fruits and vegetables]] --- > ‘The forest and its inhabitants dispel any illusions that scientists are in charge. Humility quickly sets in.’ [(Sheldrake 2021, 13)](app://obsidian.md/Sheldrake,%20Entangled%20Life,%202021) --- ## classification of plants Plants are the [[eukaryotes]] that make up the **Plantae kingdom**. | PLANTAE (kingdom) | Group | Notes | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | | **non-vascular plants** <br>(lack the vascular tissues to transport water and nutrients) | [[#Bryophyta (Division)]] <br>(no vascular system; reproduce with spores) | mosses and liverworts | | | | | | **vascular plants** | [[#Pteridophyta (Division)]]<br>(seedless plants; they use spores instead) | ferns, horsetails | | | [[#Gymnospermae (Clade)]]<br>(seeds within cones) | gymnosperms (conifers) | | | [[#Angiospermae (Clade)]]<br>(seeds within fruits) | angiosperms (flowering plants) | [^3] ### Bryophyta (Division) ### Pteridophyta (Division) ### Gymnospermae (Clade) - ↬ [The Gymnosperm Database](https://www.conifers.org/) #### classification of gymnosperms | GYMNOSPERMAE (Group/Clade) | Order | Family | Genus | Species | | -------------------------- | ---------------------- | ---------------------- | ------------------------------- | ------- | | Cycadidae (Subclass) | Cycadales (Order) | | | | | | Zamiceae (Order) | | | | | | | | | | | Ginkgoidae (Subclass) | Ginkgoales (Order) | | | | | | | | | | | Gnetidae (Subclass) | Gnetales (Order) | | | | | | Ephedrales (Order | | | | | | Welwitschiales (Order) | | | | | | | | | | | Pinidae (Subclass) | Araucariales (Order) | Araucariaceae (Family) | *[[#Agathis (Genus)\|Agathis]]* | | | | Cupressales (Order) | | | | | | Pinales (Order) | | | | [^4] --- #### *Agathis* (Genus) Commonly known as **kauri** (plural: kauri[^5]) or **dammara**, *Agathis* is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees native to [[countries of the world#Australasia|Australasia]] and [[countries of the world#Southeast Asia|Southeast Asia]].[^6] One particularly cool kauri fossil, found in 2019 in [[countries of the world#New Zealand|New Zealand]], has helped more precisely date the [[Earth#Laschamps excursion|Laschamps excursion]]: [[The rings of a kauri tree fossil from New Zealand (found in 2019) exhibit the strongest radiocarbon signature dated to within the past 50,000 years. It is believed to be evidence of the Laschamps excursion.]][^7] ![[Silberry, Megafauna, 2024#^b13104]] --- ### Angiospermae (Clade) #### classification of angiosperms …classification of angiosperms gives me a migraine. For now, instead, let’s just go with: classification of angiosperms relevant to these notes. | ANGIOSPERMAE (Group/Clade) | Clade | Order | Family | Subfamily | Genus | Species | | -------------------------- | ---------------- | ------------------- | -------------------- | ---------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | | [[#Eudicots (Clade)]] | Asterids (Clade) | Asterales (Order) | Asteraceae (Family) | Asteroideae (Subfamily) | *[[#Artemisia (Genus)\|Artemisia (Genus)]]* | *[[#Artemisia argyi (Chinese mugwort)\|A. argyi]]* | | | | | | | | *A. vulgaris* | | | Rosids (Clade) | Fabales (Order) | Fabaceae (Family) | Caesalpinioideae (Subfamily) | *[[#Adenanthera (Genus)\|Adenanthera (Genus)]]* | *[[#Adenanthera pavonina (bead tree)\|A. pavonina]]* | | | | | | | | | | [[#Monocots (Clade)]] | | Asparagales (Order) | Orchidaceae (Family) | Orchidoideae (Subfamily) | *[[#Ophrys (Genus)\|Ophrys (Genus)]]* | *[[#Ophrys apifera (bee orchid)\|O. apifera]]* | #### Eudicots (Clade) --- ##### *Artemisia* (Genus) [[Mugwort is a common name for several species of aromatic flowering plants in the genus Artemisia.]][^8] [[Mugwort is also known as Cronewort.]][^9] [[Mugwort is said to have been used in Germanic solstice rites.]][^10] ###### *Artemisia argyi* (Chinese mugwort) In East Asia the species *Artemisia argyi* is often called ‘Chinese mugwort’ in the context of [[human beings#Chinese medicine (traditional Chinese medicine; TCM)|traditional Chinese medicine]], Ngai Chou in Cantonese or àicǎo (艾草) for the whole plant in Mandarin, and àiyè (艾叶) for the leaf, which is used specifically in the practice of moxibustion. *Artemisia princeps* is a mugwort known in Korea as *ssuk* (쑥) and in Japan as *yomogi* (ヨモギ).[^11] - see also: - [[herbs and herbalism]] - [[Chinese medicine]] --- ##### *Adenanthera* (Genus) ###### *Adenanthera pavonina* (bead tree) - see also: [[love beans]] ![[Wikimedia Commons - Adenanthera_pavonina - CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0.jpg]] <small><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adenanthera_pavonina.jpg">Tauʻolunga</a> via Wikimedia Commons, <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>.</small> ![[Wikimedia Commons - by മഞ്ചാടി_02 - Adenanthera_Pavonina - CC Share Alike 3.0 Unported.jpg]] <small><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adenanthera_Pavonina_-_%E0%B4%AE%E0%B4%9E%E0%B5%8D%E0%B4%9A%E0%B4%BE%E0%B4%9F%E0%B4%BF_02.JPG">കാക്കര</a> via Wikimedia Commons, <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>.</small> --- #### Monocots (Clade) ##### *Ophrys* (Genus) ###### *Ophrys apifera* (bee orchid) [[Some orchids (Ophrys apifera) mimic the appearance of sexually-receptive female bees.]][^12] --- ## flora Flora = all the plant life present in a specific time or region. Generally, but not always, the plant life indigenous to that region. The name comes from [[religion#Flora|Flora]], a Roman deity.[^13] (Corresponds to **funga** for [[fungi]] and **fauna** for [[molluscs]].) --- ## plant–fungi relationships [[Without fungi, no life on land would exist.]][^14] ![[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021#^057341]] [^15] - see also: [[fungi]] --- ## plant–insect relationships [[Predators and parasitoids help keep plant-eating insects in check.]][^16] [[Some orchids (Ophrys apifera) mimic the appearance of sexually-receptive female bees.]][^17] - see also: [[arthropods#Insecta (Class)|insects]] [^1]: ‘Plant’, Wikipedia, last edited 7 January 2026, 13:38 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant. [^2]: ‘Plant’, Wikipedia, last edited 7 January 2026, 13:38 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant. [^3]: ‘Plant taxonomy’, Wikipedia, last edited 30 October 2025, 22:17 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_taxonomy; ‘Types of Plants: The Four Major Classifications of Plants’, *Bio Explorer: Exploring Life on Earth*, accessed 12 January 2026, https://www.bioexplorer.net/plants/. [^4]: ‘Gymnosperm’, Wikipedia, 8 January 2026, 17:03 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gymnosperm. [^5]: Jeff Silberry, dir., *[[Silberry, Megafauna, 2024|Megafauna: What Killed Australia's Giants?]]*, Season 1, Episode 1. Accessed 12 February 2025 on ABC iView, https://iview.abc.net.au/show/megafauna-what-killed-australia-s-giants. [^6]: ‘*Agathis*’, Wikipedia, last edited 30 October 2025, 15:28 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agathis. [^7]: Andrew Lorrey, quoted in: Jeff Silberry, dir., *[[Silberry, Megafauna, 2024|Megafauna: What Killed Australia's Giants?]]*, Season 1, Episode 1. Accessed 12 February 2025 on ABC iView, https://iview.abc.net.au/show/megafauna-what-killed-australia-s-giants. [^8]: ‘Mugwort’, Wikipedia, last edited 12 December 2025, 05:02 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwort. [^9]: Judith Berger, *Herbal Rituals*, in Amber Magnolia Hill, ‘[[Hill, ‘Story is Medicine’, 2018|Story is Medicine: The Mythic Imagination on the Healing Path]]’, *Plant Healer*, vol. 8, no. 2 (Spring 2018), p. 100, https://issuu.com/planthealer/docs/phm-30. [^10]: Max Dashu, *[[Dashu, Witches and Pagans, 2016|Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700–1100]]* (Veleda Press, 2017), pp. 78–79. [^11]: ‘Mugwort’, Wikipedia, last edited 12 December 2025, 05:02 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugwort. [^12]: Merlin Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]* (Vintage, 2021), p. 28; ‘*Ophrys apifera*’, Wikipedia, last edited 2 January 2026, 23:04 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophrys_apifera. [^13]: ‘Flora’, Wikipedia, last edited 16 February 2025, 05:16 (UTC), [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora). [^14]: Merlin Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]* (Vintage, 2021), p. 2. [^15]: Merlin Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]* (Vintage, 2021), p. 2. [^16]: ‘[[Australian Museum, ‘Predators, Parasites and Parasitoids’, 2022|Predators, Parasites and Parasitoids]]’, *Australian Museum*, updated 6 April 2022, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/predators-parasites-and-parasitoids/. [^17]: Merlin Sheldrake, *[[Sheldrake, Entangled Life, 2021|Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds, and Shape Our Futures]]* (Vintage, 2021), p. 28; ‘*Ophrys apifera*’, Wikipedia, last edited 2 January 2026, 23:04 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophrys_apifera.