The highest level in the hierarchy of taxonomic ranks. Traditionally all organisms have been placed in either the plant (Plantae) or animal (Animalia) kingdoms but recently several other kingdoms have been described. Thus the fungi are considered by many to be sufficiently distinct from green plants to deserve placement in a separate kingdom, the Mycota. Similarly some authors prefer to place unicellular organisms in their own kingdom, the Protista. Other systems underline the basic differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes by recognizing the kingdoms (or superkingdoms) Prokaryota and Eukaryota. The plant kingdom is divided into * divisions - the number varying according to the classification. |
