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Vascular Plants

Tracheophytes, or vascular plants are divided into three groups, Pterophytes (ferns), Angiosperms (the vascular seed-producing plants with covered seeds), and Gymnosperms (the vascular seedbearing plants with seeds that are not covered).

Pterophyta

Ferns, horesetails, aand club mosses are collectively known as pterophytes. Pterophytes are non-seedbearing vascular plants. Whereas the thallophytes and bryophytes do not have vascular tissue with which to move water and nutrients within the plant, the pterophytes, or ferns, club mosses and horsetails, do.

These plants, which reproduce by spores rather than seeds, first appeared in the Devonian Period, about 400 million years ago. They need a moist environment to carry out their life cycle, and generally occur in shaded or semi-shaded locations.

To learn more about ferns, visit the American Fern Society and their page about Fern Basics.

Gymnosperms

The gymnosperms are generally conifers, vascular seedbearing plants with seeds that are not covered by a hard seed-coat. The Ginko biloba tree, native to Asia, is also a gymnosperm, as are the cycads, a group of tropical plants. These plants, such as hemlocks, pines, spruces, and cedars, are wind-pollinated. After pollination, these plants form seeds that can wait until the conditions are just right to germinate and grow into a mature plant.

To learn more about gymnosperms, visit the Ohio State University's page on Gymnosperms

Angiosperms

Angiosperms are vascular seed-producing plants with covered seeds. These include our common wildflowers, deciduous trees, shrubs and vines. Most of our conspicuous plants in nature are angiosperms. These plants are larger than the bryophytes, thallophytes, and pterophytes, and can withstand a greater range of environmental conditions.

As the most common type of plants, many plant communities, particularly in our Ohio Climate, are named for the dominant angiosperms found there. For example, a beech-maple forest is dominated by beech and maple trees. A hemlock-hardwood swamp is dominated by hemlocks (a gymnosperm) and hardwood trees (angiosperms). Hence being able to identify the trees of a particular area is very important.

Along with the trees, you will want to get a feel for the various wildflowers that inhabit particular plant communities. Most plant communities will also include grasses. Grass identification is a bit tougher, but Virginia Tech has a wonderful online tool for grass id.

We hope that the information presented here will give you a broader and deeper understanding of Nature, and therefore, of yourself. We make no attempt to be encyclopedic, but if you do find something missing, please feel free to email us at naturalhistory@neonaturalist.com to let us know what you think we should add here.