A fern is a member of a group of roughly 12,000 species of vascular plants that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They have stems and leaves, like other vascular plants. Many ferns have what are called fiddleheads that expand into fronds, which are each delicately divided.
A forb (sometimes spelled phorb) is a herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grasses, sedges and rushes).
Graminoids, are herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the ‘true grasses’, of the family Poaceae (also called Gramineae), as well as the sedges (Cyperaceae) and the rushes (Juncaceae). The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns (turf) and grassland. Sedges include many wild marsh and grassland plants, and some cultivated ones such as water chestnut (Eleocharis dulcis) and papyrus sedge (Cyperus papyrus).
With more than 10,000 domesticated and wild species, grasses represent the fifth-largest plant family, following the Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Fabaceae, and Rubiaceae. Though commonly called “grasses”, rushes, and sedges fall outside this family. The rushes and sedges are related to the Poaceae, being members of the order Poales. Grasslands are estimated to compose 20% of the vegetation cover of the Earth, covering many habitats, including wetlands, forests, and tundra.
Orchidaceae is a diverse and widespread family of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and often fragrant, commonly known as the orchid family. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 globally accepted species, found in 880 genera.
A shrub is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 6 m (20 ft) tall. Plants of many species may grow either into shrubs or trees, depending on their growing conditions.
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, supporting branches and leaves in most species. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are usable as timber or plants above a specified height.
A vine refers to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent (that is, climbing) stems or runners.
A fungus is any member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and moulds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, protists, and bacteria.
