<P> Plants are one of the two groups into which all living things were traditionally divided ; the other is animals . The division goes back at least as far as Aristotle ( 384 BC -- 322 BC ) , who distinguished between plants , which generally do not move , and animals , which often are mobile to catch their food . Much later , when Linnaeus ( 1707 -- 1778 ) created the basis of the modern system of scientific classification , these two groups became the kingdoms Vegetabilia ( later Metaphyta or Plantae ) and Animalia ( also called Metazoa ) . Since then , it has become clear that the plant kingdom as originally defined included several unrelated groups , and the fungi and several groups of algae were removed to new kingdoms . However , these organisms are still often considered plants , particularly in popular contexts . </P>
<P> Plants are one of the two groups into which all living things were traditionally divided ; the other is animals . The division goes back at least as far as Aristotle ( 384 BC -- 322 BC ) , who distinguished between plants , which generally do not move , and animals , which often are mobile to catch their food . Much later , when Linnaeus ( 1707 -- 1778 ) created the basis of the modern system of scientific classification , these two groups became the kingdoms Vegetabilia ( later Metaphyta or Plantae ) and Animalia ( also called Metazoa ) . Since then , it has become clear that the plant kingdom as originally defined included several unrelated groups , and the fungi and several groups of algae were removed to new kingdoms . However , these organisms are still often considered plants , particularly in popular contexts . </P>
who divided up the living world into just plants and animals
who divided up the living world into just plants and animals
Aristotle
Aristotle