PTERIDOPHYTES

II B.Sc (CBBT - 2020)

Lecture - 1
MS.NANCY DEBORAH C
Assistant Professor of Botany
BCWCC, Bengaluru
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
1. What are Pteridophytes? 6. Homosporous and Heterosporous
pteridophyte
2. General Characters of
Pteridophytes 7. Megaspore and Microspores

3. Similarities and difference between 8. Gametophytes of Pteridophytes

Pteridophytes & Bryophytes
9. Life cycle of alternation of
4. Classification of Pteridophytes by generation
K.R. Sporne
10. Stelar Evolution, Heterospory &
5. Morphology and reproduction of Seed habit
a. Psilotum
b. Lycopodium
c. Selaginella
d. Marsilea
PSILOTUM LYCOPODIUM

SELAGINELLA MARSILEA
 What are Pteridophytes?
# Pteridophyta(Pteron = feather, phyton = # Non - flowering vascular plants.
plant) # Vascular cryptogam - with well developed
# First true plants vascular tissue.
# Long geological history on our planet # Cryptogams (Kruptos = hidden, Gamos =
# Known from 380 million year ago. wedded)
# Fossils obtained from Rock strata during # 400 genera & 10, 500 species - both living &
silurian and devonian period. fossil plants
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
Pteridophytes: THE FERNS

# Most of the living species are terrestrial plants

# Few members are also Aquatic = Marsilea, Xerophytic = Selaginella, Epiphytic = Lycopodium

# Grow in cool, moist & shady places

# Majority of pteridophytes are herbaceous

# Smallest pteridophyte = Azolla (aquative fern)

# Largest pteridophyte = Cyathea (tree fern)

# Include primitive & living vascular plants

 General Characters of Pteridophytes
Pteridophytes: THE FERNS

# Plant body is sporophytic - differentiated into Stem, Root & Leaves

# SPOROPHYTE: a phenomenon in which two distinct phases occur in the life history of the
organism, each phase producing the other. The sexual phase is the gametophyte

# Mature sporophyte is nutritionally independent of gametophyte

# Stem and Roots show permanent growing apex

# Primary roots are ephemeral(short lived) & replaced by adventitious root

Shows: MODOPODIAL (https://www.britannica.com/science/monopodial-branching)or DICHOTOMOUS

BRANCHING (https://www.britannica.com/science/dichotomous-branching)
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
Pteridophytes: THE FERNS

# Most of the species have herbaceous stem

# Stem - branched - Monopodial/Dichotomous branching

# Branches do not arise from the axil of leaves

# Many stem are represented by Rhizome

 General Characters of Pteridophytes
Pteridophytes: THE FERNS

# Three types of leaves are found in Pteridophytes

SCALE LEAVES: Small minute scale like leaf, Example: Equisetum

SMALL SESSILE LEAVES: Leaves are small without leaf stack(petiole) Example: Lycopodium &
Selaginella

LARGE PETIOLE COMPOUND LEAVES: Occurs in true ferns, Example: Pteris, Angiopteris
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
# The young leaves show Circinate Vernation

CIRCINATE VERNATION: Young leaves are curved inward, found in higher Pteridophytes & in
some primitive Gymnosperms
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
Based on the leaf structure,

Pteridophytes are classified into two

groups

1. Microphyllous Pteridophytes:

# Leaves are small & simple.

# Possess singe vein at the middle region.

# No leaf gap formation in the stem.

# No tissue differentiation.

Ex. Lycopodium, Selaginella LYCOPODIUM SELAGINELLA

 General Characters of Pteridophytes
Based on the leaf structure, Pteridophytes are classified into two
groups
PTERIS
1. Macrophyllous Pteridophytes:

# Leaves are large, compound and pinnated

# Venation is complex

# Mesophyll is differentiated into Palisade & Spongy tissue

# Form permanent leaf gap in the stele of the stem

Leaves & stem also possess many trichomes or hairs

Stomata are distributed on both upper & lower surface of the leaves.
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
VASCULAR TISSUES IN PTERIDOPHYTES

# Well developed vascular tissues

# Root & stem possess well developed vascular system composed of xylem & phloem

# Vascular tissues are commonly called as STELE

# Stele may be of the following types

1. PROTOSTELE: Stele without pith (LYCOPODIUM)

2. SIPHONOSTELE: Stele with centrally placed pith (EQUISETUM)

3. DICTYOSTELE: Stele with leaf gaps (PTERIS)

4. POLYSTELES: Stele is differentiated into many vascular strans (ANGIOPTERIS)

 General Characters of Pteridophytes
VASCULAR TISSUES IN PTERIDOPHYTES

# Cambium absent in vascular tissues & so no secondary thickenings

# Isoetus shows secondary growth

# Xylem composed of tracheids & very few parenchyma

# Phloem is made of sieve cells & phloem parenchyma

# Companion cells are absent in the phloem of pteridophytes

 General Characters of Pteridophytes
REPRODUCTION IN PTERIDOPHYTES

# Reproduce asexually by haploid spores

# The spores are produced in specialized structure called SPORANGIA

# Sporangia are borne on ventral side of specialized cells called SPOROPHYLLS

# In aquatic forms such as Salvinia & Marsilea - sporangia are present with specialized structures
called SPOROCARP
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
Based on the size & nature of spores, two
types of pteridophytes occurs:

1. HOMOSPOROUS

2. HETEROSPOROUS

HOMOSPOROUS

# Produce single type of Spore &

Sporangia

# Spores are small in size

Ex. Lycopodium, Pteris

 General Characters of Pteridophytes
HETEROSPOROUS

# Produce two types of spores and sporangia

# One is large & other is small

# Large sporangia is called MEGASPORANGIA

- produce MEGASPORES - FEMALE SPORES

# Small sporangia is called MICROSPORANGIA

- produce MICROSPORES - MALE SPORES

 General Characters of Pteridophytes
Based on development - two types of sporangia are present in Pteridophytes

1. EUSPORANGIATE SPORANGIUM: develop from group of initial cells ( LYCOPODIUM)

2. LEPTOSPORANGIATE SPORANGIUM: develop from a single initial cell (PTERIS)

INITIAL CELLS: https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/initial-cell#:~:text=Play,to%20the%20growing%20plant%20body.

The sporophylls may be either uniformly distributed(PTERIS) or aggregated into a compact zone (STROBILI) at the end of the
stem (SELAGINELLA, LYCOPODIUM, EQUISETUM)
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
# In true ferns sporangia are located on the lower surface of the leaf as clusters called SORI

TRUE FERNS: https://sites.google.com/site/botany317/session-2/eukaryotes/plants/embryophytes/session-5/true-ferns

# The spores are with thick wall. The spore wall is differentiated into outer exine and inner intine
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
GAMETOPHYTIC GENERATION OF SPOROPHYTES

GAMETOPHYTE: https://biologydictionary.net/gametophyte/

SPOROPHYTE: https://biologydictionary.net/sporophyte/

# The spores germinate to form the haploid gametophytic generation.

# Gametophyte & sporophyte are two separate independent plants in Pteridophytes.

# No physical connection between these two individuals.

# In homosporous species, the development of gametophyte is EXOSPORIC(Gametophyte develops outside

the spore wall)

# In heterosporous species, the development is ENDOSPORIC (Gametophyte developes within the spore wall)
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
SEX ORGANS & IT’S DEVELOPMENT

# The homosporous species are MONOECIOUS (antheridia & archegonia are borne on the same
prothallus)

# Heterosporous - DIOECIOUS (antheridia & archegonia are formed on separate male & female
prothallus)

# Microspores gives rise to male prothallus which produces the male sex organ - ANTHERIDIUM

# Macrospores gives rise to female prothallus which produces the female sex organ -
ARCHEGONIUM

# The sex organs are embedded or projected in the prothallus.

 General Characters of Pteridophytes
# The antheridium is sorrounded by sterile jacket of single layer thickness (for protection)

# The male gametes are called ANTHEROZOIDS, produced in mass inside the antheridium

# Antherozoids are unicellular, spirally coiled or spindle shaped with two APICAL FLAGELLA.

# The archegonia are differentiated into a SWOLLEN NECK & NARROW VENTER.

# The archegonia neck is projected and the venter is embedded in the prothallus.

FERTILIZATION

# During the archegonial maturation, the neck & the venter canal cell degrade to produce a
mucilaginous substance which oozes out through the canal.

# This mucilage attracts the flagellated antherozoids towards the archegonium.

 General Characters of Pteridophytes
# Water is essential for the completion of fertilization.

# The egg & antherozoids fuse to form the diploid zygote.

EMBRYO & YOUNG SPOROPHYTIC PLANT

# The zygote is the first cell of the sporophytic generation.

# The zygote divides many times to form multicellular embryo.

# After the first division, the basal pole forms the foot and the roots whereas the apical pole gives
rise to the shoot apex.
 General Characters of Pteridophytes
ALTERNATION OF GENERATION

# Pteridophytes show HETEROMORPHIC ALTERNATION OF GENERATION.

# The gametophytic & sporophytic plants are morphologically distinct

# Gametophytic & sporophytic plants are two separate individuals without any physical contact.

# Diploid sporophytic phase is the prominent phase in the life cycle.

# Gametophytic phase is represented by a small but independent prothallus.

Life Cycle of Pteridophytes
 ASSIGNMENTS FOR LECTURE - 1

1. Compare the similarities and difference between Bryophytes & Pteridophytes.

# Write or type in a A4 sheet and upload it as a PDF DOCUMENT.

2. Make a table of REIMER’S CLASSIFICATION (Modified by K.R. SPORNE)

# Make a flow chart of the classification and upload it as a PDF DOCUMENT.