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PTERIDOPHYTES

They include
horsetails and
ferns.

▶ They are found in cool, damp, shady places. Some flourish well in sandy-soil
conditions.
▶ Evolutionarily, they are the first terrestrial plants to possess vascular tissues
(xylem & phloem).

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PTERIDOPHYTES
Selaginella

▶ In bryophytes, the dominant phase is the gametophyte. In pteridophytes, the dominant phase
(main plant body) is a sporophyte. It is differentiated into true root, stem and leaves. These
organs have well-differentiated vascular tissues.
▶ The leaves in pteridophyta are small (microphylls) as in Selaginella or large (macrophylls) as in
ferns.
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PTERIDOPHYTES: ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

▶ They are used for medicinal

Rattlesnake Fern Ostrich Fern Bracken Fern
purposes.
Some ferns having medicinal value
▶ They are used as soil-binders.
▶ They are grown as
ornamentals.

Asparagus Fern Dryopteris erythrosora Actinopteris

Some ornamental ferns

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PTERIDOPHYTES: REPRODUCTION

▶ The sporophytes bear

Sporangium
sporangia that are

Sporophylls
subtended by leaf-like
appendages called
sporophylls.

Sporophyte

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PTERIDOPHYTES: REPRODUCTION

▶ In some cases, sporophylls

form distinct compact
structures called strobili or
cones (E.g. Selaginella,
Equisetum).

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PTERIDOPHYTES: REPRODUCTION

Fern Prothallus

▶ Sporangia produce spores by meiosis in spore mother cells.

▶ The spores germinate to give inconspicuous, small, multicellular, free-living, mostly
photosynthetic thalloid gametophytes called prothallus.
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PTERIDOPHYTES: REPRODUCTION

▶ Prothallus requires cool, damp, shady places to grow. Also, it needs water for fertilization.
So, the spread of pteridophytes is limited and restricted to narrow geographical regions.
▶ The gametophytes (prothallus) bear male and female sex organs called antheridia and
archegonia, respectively.
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PTERIDOPHYTES: REPRODUCTION
▶ Water is needed for transfer of
antherozoids (male gametes from
antheridia) to the mouth of
archegonium.

▶ Antherozoid fuses with the egg in

the archegonium to form zygote.

▶ Zygote develops to a multicellular

well-differentiated sporophyte.

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PTERIDOPHYTES: REPRODUCTION

▶ Most of the pteridophytes produce similar kinds of spores (homosporous plants).

▶ Others produce two kinds of spores, macro (mega) & micro spores. They are
heterosporous. E.g. Selaginella & Salvinia.

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PTERIDOPHYTES: REPRODUCTION

▶ The megaspores & microspores germinate

and give rise to female and male
gametophytes, respectively. The female
gametophytes are retained on the parent
sporophytes for variable periods.
▶ Within female gametophytes, zygotes
develop into young embryos. This event is a
precursor to the seed habit. It is considered
as an important step in evolution.

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PTERIDOPHYTES: REPRODUCTION

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CLASSES OF PTERIDOPHYTES
1 2 3 4
Psilopsida Lycopsida Sphenopsida Pteropsida

Selaginella
Dryopteris Adiantum

Psilotum Lycopodium Equisetum Pteris

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GYMNOSPERMS

▶ Gymnosperms (gymnos: naked,

sperma: seeds) are plants in which
the ovules are not enclosed by ovary

Cycas Cycas- ovules wall and remain exposed before and

after fertilization.

▶ Seeds that develop post-fertilization

are not covered (naked).

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GYMNOSPERMS

▶ Gymnosperms (gymnos: naked,

sperma: seeds) are plants in which
the ovules are not enclosed by ovary
wall and remain exposed before and
after fertilization.

▶ Seeds that develop post-fertilization

Gymnosperm ovule Angiosperm ovule are not covered (naked).
See the comparison of gymnosperm
ovule and Angiosperm ovule
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GYMNOSPERMS

▶ They include medium-sized

trees or tall trees and shrubs.

▶ The gymnosperm, Sequoia

(giant redwood) is the tallest
tree species.

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GYMNOSPERMS
Pinus roots with
mycorrhiza

Mycorrhizal short roots

▶ The roots are generally tap roots.

▶ Roots in some genera have fungal association in the form of mycorrhiza (E.g. Pinus).

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GYMNOSPERMS
Cycas: coralloid roots

Cycas revoluta

▶ In plants like Cycas, small specialized roots (coralloid roots) are associated with N2-
fixing cyanobacteria.

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GYMNOSPERMS
▶ Stems are unbranched (Cycas) or branched (Pinus,
Cedrus).

▶ Leaves are simple or compound. They are

well-adapted to withstand extreme temperature,
humidity and wind.

▶ In Cycas, the pinnate leaves persist for a few years.

▶ In conifers (Pinus, Cedrus etc.), the needle-like leaves

reduce the surface area. Their thick cuticle & sunken
Cycas pinnate Pinus stomata also help to reduce water loss.
leaf needle-like leaves
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GYMNOSPERMS Reproduction
Cycas: Male strobili Cycas: Female strobili

▶ Gymnosperms are heterosporous. They produce haploid microspores and megaspores.

▶ Some leaves are modified into sporophylls. They are compactly and spirally arranged along an
axis to form lax or strobili or cones.
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GYMNOSPERMS Reproduction

Cycas: Female cone

Cycas

▶ Sporophylls bear sporangia in which spores are produced.

▶ Sporophylls are 2 types: Microsporophylls & Megasporophylls

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GYMNOSPERMS Reproduction
a. Microsporophylls
▶ They are arranged to male strobili
(microsporangiate).
▶ They bear microsporangia.
▶ The microspores develop into male
gametophytes. It is highly reduced and
confined to only a limited number of cells.
This gametophyte is called a pollen grain.

▶ The pollen grains are developed within the

microsporangia.
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GYMNOSPERMS Reproduction

b. Megasporophylls
▶ They are arranged to female strobili
(macrosporangiate).
▶ They bear megasporangia (ovules).
▶ Megasporangium mainly consists of a body
called nucellus. It is protected by
envelopes.
▶ The megaspore mother cell is differentiated
from a cell of the nucellus.

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GYMNOSPERMS Reproduction

b. Megasporophylls
▶ Megaspore mother cell undergoes meiosis to
form four megaspores.
▶ One of the megaspores enclosed within the
Megasporangium (nucellus) develops into a
multicellular female gametophyte that bears
two or more archegonia.
▶ The multicellular female gametophyte is also
retained within megasporangium.

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GYMNOSPERMS Reproduction

▶ The male or female cones may be borne on the

same tree (Pinus) or on different trees (Cycas).
▶ Unlike bryophytes and pteridophytes, in
gymnosperms, the male and the female
gametophytes do not have an independent
free-living existence. They remain within the
sporangia retained on the sporophytes.

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GYMNOSPERMS Reproduction

▶ The pollen grain released from the

microsporangium are carried in air
currents and meet the opening of the
ovules.
▶ The pollen tube carrying the male
gametes grows towards archegonia in
the ovules and discharges their
contents near the mouth of the
archegonia.
▶ After fertilization, zygote develops into
an embryo and the ovules into seeds.
LIFE CYCLE OF GYMNOSPERMS
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THE END
Prepared by: K.C. MUHAMMED ALI
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