What is the name of the layer of Earth which serves as a medium for plant growth?

Crust is a layer of the Earth. Soil is not.

Oh, c'mon. Enough with the "hair splitting". These folks simply worded the question in a way simple folks like myself could understand & have a shot at answering correctly. Sheesh! Gimme a break.

[bobbo16], agreed. The soil is an element of the Earth's crust. Bad question.

Lithosphere is the place on earth where land animals, people, etc. live. In other words it supports land life. Example - land.

[bobbo16], yeah, it’s the crust that’s called the outer layer of the earth, not soil, by golly..

again poorly worded