vascular plant: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	tracheophyte • Tracheophyta

Photos and Videos

Fan-shaped green leaves of a Ginkgo biloba tree branch against a softly blurred light background.

Diagram showing a tree trunk cross-section with labeled layers: bark, cork, phloem, cambium, xylem, sapwood, and heartwood. Insets A and B illustrate an enlarged xylem vessel for upward water movement and a mature sieve element for downward sugar transport in angiosperms.

Diagram of the tree of life based on the three-domain system, showing Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukaryota branching into four kingdoms: Plants, Animals, Fungi, and Protista, with illustrations of representative organisms for each group.

Why do ferns prefer the shade?

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

lower vascular plant sphenopsid lycopsid psilopsid seed plant pteropsid fern lycophyte plant plant development photosynthesis plant reproductive system bryophyte conifer botany cycadophyte houseplant weed Christmas plants and animals: 12 festive species

Key People

default image

Edward Charles Jeffrey

American botanist

George Bentham, oil painting by Lewis Dickensen, 1870; in the collection of the Linnean Society of London

George Bentham

British botanist

Douglas Campbell

Douglas Houghton Campbell

American botanist

Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap

Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous