Question

1. What differences do you observe between the fern life-cycle, and the moss lifecycle?

2. Describe the fern sporophyte. Does this part of the plant have haploid or diploid cells? What function is served by this part of the fern plant’s lifecycle?

3. Describe the fern gametophyte. Does this part of the plant have haploid or diploid cells? What function is served by this part of the fern plant’s lifecycle?

4. What are the major defining characteristics that distinguish the True Mosses from the Club Mosses

Answer 1

1.In moss, gametophyte is considered as conspicious generation. Antheridia and archigonia are produced by the gametophyte (haploid). With contact of water spermatozoids are released and comes in contact to archegonia. After the process of fertilization, sporophyte (diploid) grows on gametophyte.

In fern, sporophyte is considered as a conspicous generation. Sporophyte gets germinated from the prothallus base and meiosis happens in sporangia.

2. Ferns posses life cycle reffered to as alternation of generation, consisting of diploid sporophytic and haploid gametophytic stages. The diploid sporophyte produces haploid spore by the process of meiosis. These spores develop into haploid gametophyte by the process of mitosis.

3. In fern, gametophyte is known as prothallus which is free living and photosynthetic. The gametophyte is haploid and produce gametes by mitosis. These gametes (egg and sperm) gets fertilized and attached to prothallus. This fertilized egg is diploid and divides by mitosis to produce diploid sporophyte.

4. True mosses or mosses are non vascular plants. These are small plants that survive close to the ground and get spread out. Club mosses are vascular plants, which has stem, roots etc. Club mosses possess xylem and phloem unlike true mosses (true mosses wick moisture along theie leaves). In both true mosses and club mosses, gametophytes and sporophytes are present.