The initial definition of plants includes the green algae, fungi, and the embryophytes since they all have chloroplasts and cell wall. However, algae and fungi eventually were moved to their respective kingdoms.
In the narrowest sense, plants (i.e. Plantae sensu strictissimo) are those that basically are multicellular, with cell walls containing cellulose, and have chloroplasts for photosynthesis. In this case, the kingdom Plantae is comprised of embryophytes, such as vascular plants, liverworts, mosses, and other fossil plants that share the same features.
Plantae sensu stricto (“plants, in a narrow sense”) includes embryophytes and green algae (Chlorophyta and Charophyta). This is still a widely recognized definition of plants. They make up the clade, Viridiplantae (or Chlorobionta), which is commonly called the green plants. The different divisions of the kingdom Plantae sensu stricto are as follows:
- Chlorophyta
- Charophyta
- Marchantiophyta (liverworts)
- Anthocerotophyta (hornworts)
- Bryophyta (mosses)
- Lycopodiophyta (club mosses)
- Pteridophyta (ferns, whisk ferns, and horsetails)
- Cycadophyta (cycads)
- Ginkgophyta (ginkgo)
- Pinophyta (conifers)
- Gnetophyta (gnetophytes)
- Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
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