Plants obtain inorganic minerals and water from the soil, which acts as a natural medium for land plants. The composition and quality of soil depend not only on the chemical constituents but also on the presence of living organisms. In general, soils contain three major components:

Seedless Vascular Plants Were the First Tall Plants on Earth

The primary organs of vascular plants are roots, stems, and leaves, but these structures can be highly variable, adapted for the specific needs and environment of different plant species.

Most plants are seed plants—characterized by seeds, pollen, and reduced gametophytes. Seed plants include gymnosperms and angiosperms.

The diverse plant life on Earth—consisting of nearly 400,000 species—can be divided into three broad categories based on biological characteristics: nonvascular, seedless vascular, and seed plants.

Plants have a life cycle split between two multicellular stages: a haploid stage—with cells containing one set of chromosomes—and a diploid stage—with cells containing two sets of chromosomes. The haploid stage is the gamete-producing gametophyte, and the diploid stage is the spore-producing sporophyte.