Flowering plants, or Angiosperms (described taxonomically as the division Magnoliophyta) are the largest grouping within the plant kingdom (Kingdom Plantae or Viridiplantae) in terms of the numbers of described species.
Approximately 260,000 species of flowering plant have been named so far, constituting nearly 90% of all known species of plants. Even so, taxonomists describe many new species annually, and estimates of total angiosperm diversity reach as high as 400,000 species.
There are about 450 families of flowering plants, displaying extremely diverse life histories and ecological adaptations. In addition to dominating plant biodiversity, angiosperms are the dominant photosynthetic organisms (primary producers) in most terrestrial ecosystems (an important exception to this rule are the boreal forests, which are often dominated by conifers). All important food plants are angiosperms.
Natural History
Angiosperms are also the youngest of the plant divisions, having arisen relatively late in the history of terrestrial plant life. The first land plants are about 450 million years old, but the earliest definitive angiosperm fossils are only about 130 million years old, placing their known origins within the Early Cretaceous period.
However, indirect evidence leads some scientists to estimate that angiosperms may have originated as early as 250 million years ago, that is, at the end of the Permian period.
Flowering plants, or Angiosperms (described taxonomically as the division Magnoliophyta) are the largest grouping within the plant kingdom (Kingdom Plantae or Viridiplantae) in terms of the numbers of described species.
Approximately 260,000 species of flowering plant have been named so far, constituting nearly 90% of all known species of plants. Even so, taxonomists describe many new species annually, and estimates of total angiosperm diversity reach as high as 400,000 species. There are about 450 families of flowering plants, displaying extremely diverse life histories and ecological adaptations.
In addition to dominating plant biodiversity, angiosperms are the dominant photosynthetic organisms (primary producers) in most terrestrial ecosystems (an important exception to this rule are the boreal forests, which are often dominated by conifers). All important food plants are angiosperms.
Natural History
Angiosperms are also the youngest of the plant divisions, having arisen relatively late in the history of terrestrial plant life. The first land plants are about 450 million years old, but the earliest definitive angiosperm fossils are only about 130 million years old, placing their known origins within the Early Cretaceous period.
However, indirect evidence leads some scientists to estimate that angiosperms may have originated as early as 250 million years ago, that is, at the end of the Permian period.
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