Vascular plants: FERN and FERN ALLIES

Tracheophytes: The Vascular Plants xylem (for transporting water and mineral nutrients) phloem (for transporting sugars from leaves to the rest of the plant) larger and more complex sporophyte is more prominent demonstrate increased levels of organization

Major evolutionary advances of the vascular plants

Major evolutionary advances of the vascular plants

Major evolutionary advances of the vascular plants

Primitive Vascular Plants: The Fern Allies

Division Lycophyta: club mosses oldest extant group of vascular plants sporangia organized into strobili (sing.: strobilus) may be either HOMOSPOROUS or HETEROSPOROUS Leaves that contained vascular tissue

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES Lycopodium isospores bisexual gametophyte

REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES Selaginella small spores (microspores) that germinate to produce the male gametophyte larger spores (megaspores) that germinate to produce the female gametophyte

Division Sphenophyta: scouring rushes leaves produced at a node (WHORLS) production of isospores spores bearing elaters (devices to aid in spore dispersal) gametophyte is small, photosynthetic and free-living Silica concentrated jointed stems

Division Psilophyta traditionally considered to be the oldest living lineage of vascular plants lack roots stem is photosynthetic no leaves but rather minute enations

sporangia occur in fused groups (synangia) bilobed synangia of Tmesipteris trilobed synangia of Psilotum resembles what paleobotanists believe Cooksonia

CHARACTERISTICS: 1. Underground rhizome 2. Unicellular rhizoids 3. Erect stems dichotomize into the main photosynthetic organ

REPRESENTATIVE species Psilotum (2 species) and Tmesipteris (2-5 species)

TRUE Ferns

Division Pteridophyta reproduce by spores from which the free-living bisexual gametophyte generation develops megaphyllous leaves leaf is called a frond fiddleheads central axis of a compound frond is called the rachis

ANTHERIDIUM ARCHAEGONIUM

READING ASSIGNMENT READ ON GYMNOSPERMS AND ANGIOSPERMS You may also use Biology by Campbell and Reece