Editing Vascular plant (section)

==Characteristics==
Botanists define vascular plants by three primary characteristics:
# Vascular plants have [[vascular tissue]]s which distribute resources through the plant. Two kinds of vascular tissue occur in plants: [[xylem]] and [[phloem]]. Phloem and xylem are closely associated with one another and are typically located immediately adjacent to each other in the plant. The combination of one xylem and one phloem strand adjacent to each other is known as a [[vascular bundle]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://basicbiology.net/plants/physiology/xylem-phloem |title=Xylem and Phloem |website=Basic Biology |date=26 August 2020}}</ref> The [[evolution]] of vascular tissue in plants allowed them to evolve to larger sizes than [[non-vascular plant]]s, which lack these specialized conducting tissues and are thereby restricted to relatively small sizes.
# In vascular plants, the principal [[alternation of generations|generation or phase]] is the ''[[sporophyte]]'', which produces [[spore]]s and is [[diploid]] (having two sets of [[chromosomes]] per cell). (By contrast, the principal generation phase in non-vascular plants is the ''[[gametophyte]]'', which produces [[Germ cell|gametes]] and is [[haploid]], with one set of chromosomes per cell.)
# Vascular plants have true roots, leaves, and stems, even if some groups have secondarily lost one or more of these traits.

Cavalier-Smith (1998) treated the Tracheophyta as a [[phylum]] or botanical division encompassing two of these characteristics defined by the Latin phrase "facies diploida xylem et phloem instructa" (diploid phase with xylem and phloem).<ref name="Cavalier-Smith-1998"/>{{rp|251}}

One possible mechanism for the presumed evolution from emphasis on haploid generation to emphasis on diploid generation is the greater efficiency in spore dispersal with more complex diploid structures. Elaboration of the spore stalk enabled the production of more spores and the development of the ability to release them higher and to broadcast them further. Such developments may include more photosynthetic area for the spore-bearing structure, the ability to grow independent roots, woody structure for support, and more branching.{{citation needed|reason=several points in this paragraph are conjectural and need WP:RS|date=February 2016}}

[[Sexual reproduction]] in vascular land plants involves the process of meiosis. Meiosis provides a direct [[DNA repair]] capability for dealing with [[DNA damage (naturally occurring)|DNA damages]], including oxidative DNA damages, in [[germline]] reproductive tissues.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hörandl E |title=Apomixis and the paradox of sex in plants |journal=Ann Bot |volume=134 |issue=1 |pages=1–18 |date=June 2024 |pmid=38497809 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcae044 |url=|doi-access=free |pmc=11161571 }}</ref>