Plant
A eukaryotic organism in the green plant lineage, typically capable of photosynthesis. Plants include land plants and several groups of green algae.
Eukaryote: An organism whose cells contain a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Plants are eukaryotes, with nuclei and organelles such as chloroplasts.
Photosynthesis: The process by which organisms use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into organic compounds. It supplies plants with chemical energy and fixes much of their carbon.
Primary endosymbiosis: An evolutionary event in which a eukaryotic cell incorporated a cyanobacterium that became a plastid. It explains the origin of chloroplasts in the lineage containing plants.
Agriculture: The cultivation of crops and raising of animals to produce food, materials, and other goods. Human food systems depend heavily on cultivating plants and plant products.
Carbon cycle: The movement of carbon among the atmosphere, oceans, living organisms, and geological reservoirs. Plant photosynthesis removes atmospheric carbon dioxide, while decay and fires return carbon.
Chloroplast: A photosynthetic organelle in plants and algae, descended from a cyanobacterium. Chloroplasts house the light-capturing machinery in most plants.
Calvin cycle: A set of reactions that uses ATP and NADPH to incorporate carbon dioxide into organic molecules. This cycle builds carbon compounds from the carbon dioxide plants absorb.
Charophyte: A group of green algae closely related to land plants. Charophytes share traits that illuminate the ancestry of land plants.
Crop plant: A plant grown and harvested for food, fiber, fuel, or other useful products. Crop plants are selected and managed for traits useful to people.
Primary production: The formation of organic matter from inorganic carbon by organisms, usually using light or chemical energy. Plants generate much of the organic matter that supports terrestrial food webs.