This chapter elaborates fundamental concepts such as “What is Living?” Diversity in the Living World, Taxonomic Categories, Taxonomical Aids and more. The living world is rich in variety. Millions of plant and animal species have been identified and described till date, but countless more remain yet to be discovered. The taxonomic studies of various species of plants and animals are useful in agriculture, forestry, industry and in general for knowing our resources and their diversity. Taxonomists have developed a variety of taxonomic aids to facilitate identification, naming and classification of organisms.
In this chapter, we will study characteristics of Kingdoms Monera, Protista and Fungi of the Whittaker system of classification. The Kingdoms Plantae and Animalia, commonly referred to as plant and animal kingdoms, respectively, will be dealt with separately in Chapters 3 and 4. In the biological classification, you will also study about Kingdom Monera, Kingdom Protista, Kingdom Fungi, Kingdom Plantae, Kingdom Animalia, Viruses, Viroids and Lichens.
In the previous chapter, we looked at the broad classification of living organisms under the system proposed by Whittaker (1969) wherein he suggested the Five Kingdom classification viz. Monera, Protista, Fungi, Animalia and Plantae. In this chapter, we will delve into detail with further classification within the Kingdom Plantae or the ‘plant kingdom’. Also, you will get to learn concepts such as Algae, Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms, Plant Life Cycles and Alternation of Generations.
In the previous chapter, we looked at the broad classification of living organisms under the system proposed by Whittaker (1969) wherein he suggested the Five Kingdom classification viz. Monera, Protista, Fungi, Animalia and Plantae. In this chapter, we will delve into detail with further classification within the Kingdom Plantae or the ‘plant kingdom’. Also, you will get to learn concepts such as Algae, Bryophytes, Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms, Plant Life Cycles and Alternation of Generations.
