The NCERT Class 11 Biology Chapter 3 Notes explain important differences among algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. The notes also highlight how features, evolutionary importance, reproduction, and alternation of generations vary across these groups, supported by diagrams. With the help of these NCERT Notes for Class 11, students will be able to answer questions very confidently and do well in their exams.
Class 11 Biology Chapter 3 Plant Kingdom Notes
Here, students will get a simple, clear explanation of each group of plants, from algae to angiosperms. The Plant Kingdom Class 11 Notes are prepared by subject experts following the NCERT curriculum, which helps students revise quickly. They can understand the complex topics easily and be ready to solve any kind of questions based on this chapter.
Introduction to the Plant Kingdom
The Plant kingdom covers all green plants, including algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. Earlier classification placed fungi, bacteria, and cyanobacteria under plants, but now these are separated. Classification has evolved from simple characters (e.g., shape, colour) to modern phylogenetic systems using molecular, cytological, and chemical data.

Algae
- Simple, thalloid, chlorophyll-bearing, mostly aquatic organisms.
- Found in freshwater, marine water, moist soil, and even on animals.
- Reproduce vegetatively (fragmentation), asexually (zoospores), and sexually (isogamy, anisogamy, oogamy).
- Important because they fix CO2, produce oxygen, and are primary producers in aquatic food chains.
- Economic uses: food (Porphyra, Laminaria), hydrocolloids (algin, carrageenan), agar (microbiology and food industry), Chlorella as a protein supplement.
- Examples of algae (Volvox, Spirogyra, Fucus)
Classes of Algae
The different classes of algae have been discussed below:
Chlorophyceae (Green Algae):
- Grass-green due to chlorophyll a & b
- Food is stored as starch in pyrenoids
- Cell wall of cellulose + pectin
- E.g., Chlamydomonas, Volvox, Spirogyra

Phaeophyceae (Brown Algae):
- Olive-green to brown due to fucoxanthin
- Stored food: laminarin or mannitol
- Cell wall with cellulose + algin
- Usually marine, large-sized (kelps)
- E.g., Laminaria, Fucus

Rhodophyceae (Red Algae):
- Red pigment r-phycoerythrin
- Store food as a flouridean starch
- Mostly marine
- E.g., Polysiphonia, Porphyra, Gelidium, corallina

Bryophytes
- The bryophytes are called “amphibians of the plant kingdom” as they live on land but need water to reproduce.
- Occur in moist, shaded areas
- Main plant body: gametophyte (haploid), produces gametes
- The sporophyte is attached to and dependent on the gametophyte
- E.g., liverwort, hornwort, mosses
Liverworts
- Thalloid, dorsiventral structure
- Asexual reproduction by fragmentation or gemmae in gemma cups
- E.g., Marchantia
Mosses
- The gametophyte has two stages: protonema (creeping) and the leafy stage
- Reproduce vegetatively by fragmentation
- E.g., Funaria, Polytrichum
Pteridophytes
- First land plants with vascular tissues (xylem + phloem)
- True root, stem, and leaves present
- The dominant plant body is the sporophyte
- Reproduce via spores; the gametophyte is independent but small
- Show heterospory in genera like Selaginella, leading to seed habit evolution
- E.g., Selaginella, Equisetum
Gymnosperms
- Seeds are “naked” (no fruit covering)
- Ovules exposed before and after fertilisation
- Usually large trees or shrubs (e.g., Pinus, Cycas, Sequoia)
- Well-adapted leaves, tap roots, and cones
- Heterosporous, with separate male and female cones
- Male gametophyte = pollen grain
- The female gametophyte develops inside the ovule
- E.g., Pinus, Ginkgo
Angiosperms
- Most advanced plants, with flowers
- Ovules are enclosed in ovaries, forming fruits after fertilisation
- The largest group in the plant kingdom
- Provide food, medicine, timber, etc.
- Classified as dicots (two cotyledons) and monocots (one cotyledon)
- E.g., Wheat, Mustard, Rice

Characteristics of the Plant Kingdom
The plants make their food through photosynthesis, have cell walls made of cellulose, and store food in the form of starch. They are necessary for maintaining oxygen levels and forming the foundation of food chains. The following points show the important features of the Plant Kingdom:
- Plants are made up of many specialised cells that form tissues and organs.
- They make their food using sunlight with the help of chlorophyll (types a and b).
- Their cells have walls made of cellulose, providing rigidity and protection.
- Chlorophyll a and b help absorb light efficiently for photosynthesis.
Reproductive Features of the Plant Kingdom
Types of reproduction include sexual reproduction and asexual reproduction, depending on the group. Alternation of generations is a common pattern in their life cycles. It includes two distinct multicellular phases:
- Produces haploid gametes (egg and sperm)
- Forms sporophytes after fertilisation of gametes diploid), produces spores through meiosis.
This alternation maintains genetic diversity and provides the continuation of the plant life cycle.
Physiological Features of the Plant Kingdom
Plants perform essential physiological processes that maintain growth, development, and their relationship with the environment. These include:
- Photosynthesis is important for getting energy for the metabolic activities of plants and for the synthesis of oxygen used in aerobic respiration by living beings.
- Through cellular respiration, plant cells can split glucose molecules and release free energy for use in other cellular processes. This process, called cellular respiration, takes place in the mitochondria, where oxygen is used in the process and carbon dioxide and water are formed as waste.
- Plants use stomata to release water vapour by transpiration, regulating temperature and promoting nutrient flow for growth.
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Plant Kingdom: Previous Year Questions and Answers
Some of the questions that have come in past years from the chapter are given below. Students preparing for exams can also practice from the Plant Kingdom Class 11 Notes for better clarity.
Question 1. The giant Redwood tree (Sequoia sempervirens) is a/an
Option 1. Gymnosperm
Option 2. Free fern
Option 3. Pteridophyte
Option 4. Angiosperm
Answer :
Redwood trees are a Gymnosperm that have earned many labels; known as the tallest tree, oldest tree, largest by trunk volume, etc. They belong to the Cupressaceae family and include species like the Coast Redwood and Giant Sequoia. Their towering height and immense lifespan make them iconic symbols of resilience and natural beauty.
Hence, the correct answer is option (1) Gymnosperm.
Question 2. If the diploid number of a flowering plant is 36. What would be the chromosome number in its endosperm?
Option 1. 36
Option 2. 54
Option 3. 18
Option 4. 72
Answer :
Endosperm is formed through the fusion of a haploid male gamete and a diploid secondary nucleus. Consequently, the endosperm has a triploid nucleus, which will have three times the number of chromosomes as in a haploid nucleus.
Hence, the correct answer is option (2) 54.
Question 3. Plants of this group are diploid and well-adapted to extreme conditions. They grow bearing sporophylls in compact structures called cones. The group in reference is
Option 1. Monocots
Option 2. Gymnosperms
Option 3. Pteridophytes
Option 4. Dicots
Answer :
Cones are a primary feature of gymnosperms. Furthermore, gymnosperms are admirably adapted to extreme conditions. The plants that produce seeds are called gymnosperms, although they don't have fruits like angiosperms do. These plants generate a cone-like structure at the terminal of stalks or on the surface of scales or leaves.
Hence, the correct answer is option (2) Gymnosperms.
Question 4. An alga having chlorophyll a, Floridean starch as a storage product, and lacking flagellate cells belongs to the class:
Option 1. Phaeophyceae
Option 2. Chlorophyceae
Option 3. Rhodophyceae
Option 4. Xanthophyceae
Answer :
An alga having chlorophyll a, floridean starch as a storage product, and lacking flagellate cells belongs to the class Rhodophyceae, also known as red algae. Red algae are a group of algae that typically have a red or purplish color due to the presence of pigments such as chlorophyll and accessory pigments like phycoerythrin and phycocyanin.
Hence, the correct answer is option (3) Rhodophyceae.
Question 5. The first living beings on Earth were anaerobic because
Option 1. There was no oxygen in the air
Option 2. oxygen damages proteins
Option 3. oxygen interferes with the action of ribozymes
Option 4. They evolved in the deep sea
Answer :
The first living beings on Earth were likely anaerobic organisms because the Earth's atmosphere lacked oxygen during its early stages. This period, known as the Precambrian or Archean era, lasted for billions of years before oxygen began to accumulate in the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis by cyanobacteria.
Hence, the correct answer is option (1). There was no oxygen in the air.
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