Most Mosses & Ferns Live in Moist Environments PLANT SPECIES ADAPTED TO LIFE ON LAND. Scientists think that the first plants looked like green algae (in shallow ponds today). MOSSES ARE NON-VASCULAR PLANTS. MOSSES REPRODUCE WITH SPORES. FERNS ARE VASCULAR PLANTS. FERNS REPRODUCE WITH SPORES.

Plant Life Adapted to Land First plants needed to get both water and nutrients from land. (no surrounding water to keep moist or give support, but plenty of CO2 and sunlight in air). Some of first plants were thought to be ancestors of mosses & ferns. Mosses (as well as liverworts & hornworts) are thought to be descended from first plants to spread onto bare rock and soil of Earth. Ferns (& relatives) are thought to have appeared later.

Mosses are Non-Vascular Plants Each moss cell (like all plant cells) has a thick wall providing support. Also have storage areas for water & food (vacuoles). Mosses don’t grow large but have simple roots, stems & leaves. Made of tiny, dark green plants. Moss is a NON-VASCULAR plant- no vascular tissue (xylem/phloem). Nutrients & water move through non-vascular plants body cell by cell (so its body can only be a few cells thick). In the first part of moss reproductive cycle, it grows and makes male & female structures needed for sexual reproduction. If good conditions & enough water, plant enters a spore-producing stage (second part of cycle).

Mosses Reproduce with Spores Mosses, ferns & fungi reproduce via spores Spore = single reproductive cell protected by hard watertight covering. Small and transported through air (so can grow far away from parent organism). A clump of moss (first generation) has both male and female structures which (at right conditions) make sperm & eggs; water (perhaps rainwater) is needed for sperm to swim to eggs Fertilized egg grows into stalk with capsule on end (second generation plant); stalk & capsule grow from female moss plant & make spores through meiosis, released into air. Moss may reproduce asexually like other plants too.

Ferns are Vascular Plants Tube-like tissue of vascular plants moves water through plant quickly allowing much growth for bigger size & weight. Roots can branch out more to anchor and give more water & nutrients. Stems branch out & more leaves grow so more sugar & other materials for energy & growth. Vascular tissue moves material more easily & gives more support.

Ferns Reproduce with Spores Leaves of ferns are called FRONDS, which have many spore clusters on their backs. Spores fall to ground and grow to size of thumbnail, making sperm & egg producing parts of fern plant (first generation of plant); sperm need water to swim to egg, just like in mosses- so need lots of water. Second generation is the plant with fronds that grow from fertilized egg. This makes spores, which spread through air, and if good conditions, when they land grow into fern plants. This is sexual reproduction, but like all plants, can also reproduce asexually too.