Archaeplastida

Archaeplastida (pronounced ) or archaeplastids, sometimes also regarded as the kingdom Plantae sensu lato ("in a broad sense"), are a large group of eukaryotes comprising the major clades Viridiplantae (green algae and land plants) and Rhodophyta (red algae), as well as the minor division Glaucophyta ("grey algae"). While the vast majority of archaeplastids are autotrophs, the group also includes heterotrophic lineages such as the predatorial (eukaryotrophic) flagellates Rhodelphidia and probably also the microscopic picoplankton Picozoa, both may be sister to Rhodophyta and altogether forming

Rhodelphis is a single-celled archaeplastid that lives in aquatic environments and is the sister group to red algae and possibly Picozoa. While red algae have no flagellated stages and are generally photoautotrophic, Rhodelphis is a flagellated predator containing a non-photosynthetic plastid. This group is important to the understanding of plastid evolution because they provide insight into the morphology and biochemistry of early archaeplastids. Rhodelphis contains a remnant plastid that is not capable of photosynthesis, but may play a role in biochemical pathways in the cell like heme synth