Table of Contents
Definition of Plant
A plant is an organism that is capable of photosynthesis. Plants are typically multicellular, autotrophic, and terrestrial.
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude the fungi and some algae, as well as the prokaryotes (the archaea and bacteria). By one definition, plants form the clade Viridiplantae (Latin name for “green plants”) which is sister of the Glaucophyta, and consists of the green algae and Embryophyta (land plants). The latter includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns and their allies, hornworts, liverworts, and mosses.
Most plants are multicellular organisms. Green plants obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts that are derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria. Their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b, which gives them their green color. Some plants are parasitic or mycotrophic and have lost the ability to produce normal amounts of chlorophyll or to photosynthesize, but still have flowers, fruits, and seeds. Plants are characterized by sexual reproduction and alternation of generations, although asexual reproduction is also common.
Definition of Tree
A tree is a large, tall, woody plant. Trees are usually divided into two main categories: hardwoods and softwoods. Hardwoods are deciduous trees, meaning they lose their leaves in the fall. Softwoods are evergreen trees, meaning they keep their leaves all year long.
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are usable as lumber or plants above a specified height. In wider definitions, the taller palms, tree ferns, bananas, and bamboos are also trees. Trees are not a taxonomic group but include a variety of plant species that have independently evolved a trunk and branches as a way to tower above other plants to compete for sunlight. The majority of tree species are angiosperms or hardwoods; of the rest, many are gymnosperms or softwoods. Trees tend to be long-lived, some reaching several thousand years old. Trees have been in existence for 370 million years. It is estimated that there are some three trillion mature trees in the world.
What is the Difference between Plant and Tree?
A plant is an organism that can photosynthesize. This means that they can create their own food using sunlight, water, and CO2. Trees are a type of plant, but not all plants are trees. Plants can come in many different shapes and sizes, from tiny mosses to towering redwoods.
One key difference between plants and trees is that trees typically have a woody stem. This means that the stem of the tree is thick and tough, and can support the weight of the leaves and branches. Trees also tend to have larger leaves than other plants. This is because trees need to be able to capture more sunlight in order to produce food.
