Beginning of Essay
Plant, any member of the plant kingdom, comprising about 260,000 known species of mosses, liverworts, ferns, herbaceous and woody , bushes, vines, trees, and various other forms that mantle the earth and are also found in its waters. range in size and complexity ....

Middle of Essay
.... also modify climates and create and hold down soil, making what would otherwise be stony, sandy masses habitable for life. Cell Structure and Function The tremendous variety of plant species is, in part, a reflection of the many distinct cell types that make up individual plants. Fundamental similarities exist among all these cell types, however, and these similarities indicate the common origin and the interrelationships of the different plant species. Each individual plant cell is at least partly self-sufficient, being isolated from its neighbors by a cell membrane, or plasma membrane, and a cell wall. The membrane and wall allow the ind ....