1.

How is pteridophytes characterized and

classified?
Pteridophyta Classification
Pteridophyta is classified into four main
classes:
1. Psilopsida
 They are the most primitive.
 The stem is photosynthetic and
dichotomously branched.
 Rhizoids are present.
 Leaves are mostly absent.
 The sporophyte is homosporous synangium.
 Examples- Psilotum and Tmesipteris.
2. Lycopsida
 They are commonly known as club moss.
 Well-differentiated plant body with adventitious root, stem, rhizophores and leaves.
 The sporophyte is homosporous or heterosporous.
 Examples- Selaginella, Lycopodium.
3. Sphenopsida
 Commonly known as horsetail.
 Well-differentiated plant body with roots arising from nodes of the underground rhizome,
stem and scaly leaves.
 Homosporous, sporangia are borne on strobili.
 Examples- Equisetum.
4. Pteropsida
 Commonly known as a fern.
 Well-differentiated plant body with roots, stem and leaves.
 The sporophyte is homosporous or heterosporous.
 Antherozoids are multiflagellate.
 Examples- Pteris, Dryopteris, Adiantum
Pteridophyta Characteristics
1. Pteridophytes are considered as the first plants to be evolved on land:
It is speculated that life began in the oceans, and through millions of years of evolution, life
slowly adapted on to dry land. And among the first of the plants to truly live on land were the
Pteridophytes.
2. They are cryptogams, seedless and vascular:
Pteridophytes are seedless, and they reproduce through spores. They contain vascular tissues but
lack xylem vessels and phloem companion cells.
3. The plant body has true roots, stem and leaves:
They have well-differentiated plant body into root, stem and leaves.
4. Spores develop in sporangia:
The sporangium is the structures in which spores are formed. They are usually homosporous
(meaning: one type of spore is produced) and are also heterosporous, (meaning: two kinds of
spores are produced.)
5. Sporangia are produced in groups on sporophylls:
Leaves that bear the sporangia are termed as sporophylls. The tip of the leaves tends to curl
inwards to protect the vulnerable growing parts.
6. Sex organs are multicellular:
The male sex organs are called antheridia, while the female sex organs are called archegonia.
7. They show true alternation of generations:
The sporophyte generation and the gametophyte generation are observed in Pteridophytes. The
diploid sporophyte is the main plant body.
2. What is the role of gymnosperms as a connecting link between pteridophytes and
angiosperms?

3. Give the meaning of the following terms:

a. Equisetum- is the only living genus in Equisetaceae, a family of vascular plants that
reproduce by spores rather than seeds.
b. Antheridia- An antheridium is a haploid structure or organ producing and containing male
gametes (called antherozoids or sperm). The plural form is antheridia, and a structure containing
one or more antheridia is called an androecium. "Androecium" is also used as the collective term
for the stamens of flowering plants.
c. Archegonia- An archegonium, from the ancient Greek ἀρχή and γόνος, is a multicellular
structure or organ of the gametophyte phase of certain plants, producing and containing the
ovum or female gamete. The corresponding male organ is called the antheridium. The
archegonium has a long neck canal or venter and a swollen base.
d. Sporangia- A sporangium is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of
a single cell or can be multicellular. All plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at
some point in their life cycle.
e. Strobilus- A strobilus is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of
sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but
some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to the woody seed strobili of conifers.

4. What are the characteristics of the division equisetophyta? Name the varieties of horsetails.
Characteristics of Equisetophyta
The plants, which generally grow in moist places, have roots and ribbed green stems, the surface
of which is impregnated with silica crystals. Their abrasive texture made them useful in former
times for scouring, hence their common name.
Varieties of horsetails
1. Water Horsetail
Also known as swamp horsetail, water horsetail
(Equisetum fluviatile L.) is a slender, dark
green plant that has hollow, jointed stems
measuring up to 40 inches high, which are
devoid of flowers and true leaves. The stems
have 10 to 30 longitudinal ridges and thin
walls, which makes them weak. Instead of
flowers and fruits, a water horsetail has cone-
like, spore-producing structures that appear at
the ends of the fertile stems. The water horsetail's rough texture and corrugated stems are some
of its main identifying features. Appearing at each joint are whorls of tiny, black-tipped scales or
whorls of long branches joined together. The cones at the stem tip produce the spores. Often
producing a dense population near shorelines and in shallow water, water horsetail is an ideal
plant for a bog or water garden.
2. Field Horsetail
Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.) consists of two
types of stems (sterile and fertile) that appear every
year from rhizomes. The rhizomes are fleshy and
tuberous, measuring up to 3/4 inch in diameter, and
can grow in singles or in pairs at the joints. Fertile
stems do not have chlorophyll and die down after
shedding spores. They have dark, creeping, brown-
woolly rhizomes and are tuberous in nature. The stems
measuring up to 4 inches long are brittle, unbranched
and have a spore-bearing end. They also appear similar
to asparagus sprouts at first glance. Sterile stems
measuring up to 2 feet are tough, wiry and appear after the fertile stems and die down in fall.
Whorls of numerous green branches appear from the joints. The stems have 10 to 12 ridges.
Sterile stems appear more often than fertile stems do.
Scouring Rush Horsetail
Leafless, dark evergreen stems that are all fertile and do not die back in autumn differentiates the
scouring rush (Equisetum hyemale) from the field horsetails. The stems appear similar to those
of the field horsetails; however, they are green with two black ring-like bands at the joints. Each
stem can reach up to 4 feet tall upon maturity and has a spore-bearing
cone, known as a strobilus, that appears on top in various shades of
brown. Scour rush are predominant in the banks of ditches, or borders
of waterways and reservoirs of the Pacific Northwest. Plant scouring
rush in ponds and bog gardens using containers to prevent them from
taking over the garden.

5. Give their economic and ecological importance

Give their economic and ecological importance of horsetail - Google Search

What Are Some Plants That Make Spores Instead of Seeds? (gardenguides.com)

Biology Champ | Gymnosperm (biologychamps.com)