Scientists also do not know how many species of plants are on Earth. The study conducted by the Census of Marine Life predicts that there are approximately 298,000 species of plants of which only 215,644 have been identified and catalogued. That means there are many species of plants that have yet to be discovered.

Just like the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom is hugely diverse. Nonvascular plants, such as moss, angiosperms, such as wildflowers, and gymnosperms, such as pine trees are all examples of the plant kingdom.

Sources: Irish Moss, How Stuff Works, Angiosperms, Fulton Montgomery Community College, and Gymnosperms, CK-12

Plants have the following characteristics in common.

1. Plants are multicellular.
2. Plants have eukaryotic cells, which contain cell walls made up of cellulose.
3. Plants are autotrophic.
4. Plants reproduce asexually and sexually.

Typical plant cells have the same organelles. Each organelle performs a specific function in the cell.

Let's look at a typical plant cell.

Directions: Scroll over the letters to view the name of the structure and the function. Take notes on the structure and function of the parts of this cell.

As stated above, this is a typical plant cell. Plant cells are highly specialized and have differences in their structures based on their job, or function, within the organism. The image below shows the structure of some of the specialized plant cells.

Sources: Guard Cells, Grande Erie District First Class, Root Hair Cell, BBC, and Palisade cells, Pass my exams