Any attempt to create a phylogenetic system of classification is an exercise littered with both technical and professional hazards. The basic system shown below is not complete, but covers the major groups I typically have occasion to deal with in lectures. Extinct groups are high-lighted in red, while groups with at least one extant representative are high-lighted in green. I typically use a five-kingdom model when teaching, and basic definitions for each of the kingdoms are included, even though the Fungi and the Animalia do not contain any "plant-like" (ie. Autotrophic) organisms.

Inclusion criteria: all prokarytotic taxa

Inclusion criteria: all predominantly unicellular eukaryotic taxa. The kingdom includes both autotrophic and heterotrophic forms and only the former are shown below.

Inclusion criteria: includes all eukarytotic autottrophs where at least some taxa have multicellular body plans.

Note: the classification of the "vascular" land plants presents some very difficult problems, depending on the interpretation of material largely based on the fossil record. A simplified version of one approach is shown below, while others will be noted in lecture.

Inclusion criteria: includes all eukarytotic heterotrophs (unicellular and multicellular) which obtain their nutrients by absorbtion (extra-cellular digestion).

Inclusion criteria: includes all eukarytotic, multicellular, heterotrophs that ingest their food.