Lycophytes and Monilophytes

Club Mosses

Family Lycopdiacae

Spike Mosses

Family Selaginellaceae

Quilworts

Family Isoetaceae

All lycophytes

Microphylls and protostele

Club Mosses (habitate)

Arctic to tropics

Club Mosses (morphology of sporophyte)

• Branching rhizome with aerial branches and roots

Club Mosses (Homosporous)

• Sporantia on the upper surface of fertile microphylls (sporophytes)

• Sporophylls interspersed OR grouped on strolbili

Gametophytes are unisexual or bisexual

Spike Mosses (Heterosporous)

Megasporophylls and microsporophylls

Spike Mosses (types of gametophytes)

• The male gametophyte (microgametophyte) develops from the microspore.

• Female gametophyte (megagametophytes) develops from the megaspore.

Quilworts (sporophyte)

• Short, flashy underground stem (corm)

• Quill-like microphylls

Phylum Monilophyta (growth forms)

From epiphytes to ‘tree’ like plants

• Simple leaves to highly dissected compound leaves.

Ferns (two types of sporangia)

• Eusporangia

• Leptosporangia

Eusporangia

• Multicellular origin

• Initials: inner and outer series of cells

• Products: Spore mother cells and wall of sporangium

• Characteristics of all vascular plants

Leptosporangia

• Origin: single superficial initial cell

• Precise pattern of division

• Results: Spore mother cells and stalks of the sporangium

• Characteristics of mostly all. familiar ferns.

Leptosporangiate ferns (leaves)

• Megaphylls (=fronds) (Leaf stalk (rachis) with leaflets (pinnae))

Leptosporangiate Ferns (Young life cycle)

• The timing of the development of antheridia and archegonia determines self-fertilization or cross-fertilization.

• Young sporophyte gets nutrients from gametophyte but becomes independent.

Horsetails (Types)

• Eusporangiate

• Equisetum (oldest surviving genus of plants)

Horsetails (Characteristics)

• Elater on the outer layer of the spore wall

• Uncoilded when dried

• Gametophytes: bisexual

Water Fern Azolla

• Floats on the surface of water

• Cyanobacteria, Anabaena azollae, in leaf (nitrogen fixing abilities)(used to maintain the fertility of rice paddies).