Plant Classification Basics

• Organisms that synthesize their own food from sunlight and are made up of cells with cell walls that contain cellulose belong to the plant kingdom. Within that kingdom, taxonomists recognize 10 divisions or phyla. Plants belonging to the same phylum share key characteristics that show their evolutionary relationship to each other. Half of plant phyla include primitive plants that reproduce with spores, not seeds; four phyla describe early seed plants. The 10th phylum -- Magnoliophyta, or the flowering plants -- includes the dandelion.
  
  

Flowering Plants

• Although the flowering plant phylum is the largest and most diverse of the 10 phyla of the plant kingdom, it is also the youngest. Flowering plants are, of course, distinguished from other phyla by the presence of flowers, which have important implications for the plants that belong to the phylum. Flowering plants develop their seeds inside the plant rather than exposed to the air. Many flowering plants include shapes, colors and scents that attract pollinators, which carry pollen from plant to plant and aid in reproduction.
  
  

Dandelions as Flowering Plants

• Dandelion seeds develop inside the plant before opening to the wind.Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  Most gardeners and homeowners know the common dandelion flower (Taraxacum officinale). However, there is more to this flower than meets the eye. Dandelions belong to the composite flower family. Each yellow "petal" is, in fact, an individual flower. Bees and other insects carry the pollen from plant to plant, and seeds develop inside of the plant. After maturing, the dandelion opens again and scatters its seeds on the wind. The development and pollination of the flowers inside the plant cause the dandelion to belong to the flowering plant phylum.
  
  

Other Classifications

• Because the flowering plant phylum is so large and diverse, knowing the dandelion's phylum provides you with very little information about the plant. Plant taxonomy splits each classification group into additional groups, down to the level of species. Dandelions belong to a class known as the dicots and the aster or composite family, making them closely related to plants like the sunflower and aster. At the final level before the species level, taxonomists place the common dandelion with other dandelion flowers.