Biology · Plant Kingdom · NEET
Learn 3-4 solid examples per group and repeat them. ALGAE: Chlamydomonas, Volvox, Spirogyra, Chara (green); Ectocarpus, Fucus, Laminaria, Sargassum (brown); Polysiphonia, Porphyra, Gelidium, Gracilaria (red). BRYOPHYTES: Marchantia, Riccia (liverworts); Funaria, Sphagnum, Polytrichum (mosses). PTERIDOPHYTES: Selaginella, Salvinia, Equisetum, Pteris, Psilotum, Lycopodium. GYMNOSPERMS: Cycas, Pinus, Ginkgo, Cedrus, Sequoia. ANGIOSPERMS: Salvia, mango, mustard, wheat. In NEET, one correct example anchor usually cracks a whole match-the-column question.
Selaginella is a PTERIDOPHYTE (a fern ally / vascular plant), not a moss. Students confuse it because the name sounds small and delicate. It is famous as a HETEROSPOROUS pteridophyte (makes two kinds of spores). Pair it in memory with Salvinia - both are heterosporous pteridophytes, and NEET has asked exactly this pair.
Cycas is a GYMNOSPERM (naked-seed plant), even though its leaves look fern-like. Gymnosperms have exposed ovules with no ovary wall around them. Easy anchor genera for gymnosperms: Cycas, Pinus, Ginkgo, Cedrus, Sequoia. Never place Cycas with ferns just because of the leaf shape.
Salvinia is a PTERIDOPHYTE (an aquatic fern), not an alga. It is heterosporous. In the 2025 NEET match question, Salvinia (IV) was the correct example for Pteridophyte. Do not mix it up with Salvia (an angiosperm) - the names look almost the same, and NEET uses that trap.
All three are BRYOPHYTES. Marchantia and Riccia are LIVERWORTS; Funaria, Sphagnum and Polytrichum are MOSSES. Bryophytes are the 'amphibians of the plant kingdom' (need water for the male gamete to swim). Polytrichum was the bryophyte example in the 2025 NEET paper.
Volvox is a COLONIAL green ALGA (Chlorophyceae). Chlamydomonas and Chlorella are UNICELLULAR. Spirogyra, Ulothrix and Chara are filamentous/branched. NEET has asked 'an example of a colonial alga' with the answer Volvox (2017), so remember Volvox = colony.
By reserve food + example set. GREEN (Chlorophyceae): store starch - Chlamydomonas, Volvox, Spirogyra, Ulva, Chara. BROWN (Phaeophyceae): store mannitol/laminarin - Ectocarpus, Laminaria, Fucus, Sargassum, Dictyota. RED (Rhodophyceae): store floridean starch - Polysiphonia, Porphyra, Gelidium, Gracilaria. Gelidium and Gracilaria give agar-agar - a common NEET fact.
Match List I with List II. List I (Plant group): A. Pteridophyte, B. Bryophyte, C. Angiosperm, D. Gymnosperm. List II (Example): I. Salvia, II. Ginkgo, III. Polytrichum, IV. Salvinia. Choose the option with all correct matches.
An example of colonial alga is:
Which of the following pairs is of unicellular algae?
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
About 3-4 strong examples per group is enough (see the lists above). NEET usually gives one clear anchor genus in a match question, so knowing solid examples for each of the 5 groups lets you solve by elimination.
Because it tests real understanding, not rote lines. It checks whether you can place a plant correctly even when its name or leaf looks like another group. Every year there is at least one such match-the-column question.
Salvia is an ANGIOSPERM (a flowering plant). Salvinia is a PTERIDOPHYTE (an aquatic, heterosporous fern). The names differ by only two letters, and NEET uses this to trap students.
Gelidium and Gracilaria give agar-agar. Both are RED algae (Rhodophyceae). This economic-importance fact is a common NEET add-on to genus questions.
Equisetum (the horsetail) is a PTERIDOPHYTE, and it is homosporous. It bears strobili (cones), which sometimes confuses students into thinking it is a gymnosperm - but it is not.
