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.

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

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.

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