What generation means spore bearing plant
The spores are borne under sporangiophores in the cone-like structures at the tips of some of the stems. altissimum) is the only species of horsetail in South Africa. The African Horsetail ( Equisetum ramosissimum subsp. Monilophytes include the Snaketongue Ferns of which one genus, Ophioglossum, is indigenous to southern Africa, Whisk Ferns of which one species, Psilotum nudum, is indigenous to southern Africa, the Horsetails of which one species, the African Horsetail ( Equisetum ramosissimum), is indigenous to southern Africa, the Potato Ferns of which only one species, Ptisana fraxinea, is indigenous to southern Africa, and the Leptosporangiate Ferns, which is the largest and most diverse group that contains around 270 species indigenous to southern Africa.
This ancient group of plants was once prolific with extinct giant species of Clubmosses growing up to 40 m high. Lycophytes include the Clubmosses, of which there are three genera in southern Africa: Huperzia, Lycopodiella and Lycopodium, Spikemosses which contain a single genus Selaginella with ten species in southern Africa and the Quillworts, which also contain a single genus, Isoetes, with at least 14 species in southern Africa. To reflect evolutionary relationships more accurately, scientists now propose to divide spore-bearing, vascular plants into two formal groups: Lycophytes and Monilophytes. New research in molecular biology has necessitated a few changes in fern classification. The ‘fern allies’ comprised the Clubmosses, Spikemosses, Quillworts, Whisk Ferns and Horsetails.
In older classifications these plants were informally divided into ‘true ferns’and ‘fern allies’. Unlike Bryophytes they have a vascular system (specialized tissue for transporting water and nutrients – xylem and phloem).įerns are usually referred to as Pteridophytes, which includes all spore-bearing, vascular plants. They mostly grow on dry land but they still need water in order to reproduce. Like Mosses and Liverworts ( Bryophytes) they have no seeds, flowers or fruit, and reproduce by means of spores. It includes the familiar fern with its graceful fronds, but also encompasses a great diversity of fern-like plants that grow in a variety of habitats from shady, damp forests to deserts. Photo: Clare Archer, iSpot.įerns or Pteridophytes are a group of primitive plants. 101(4) December 2015.įern leaves with sori. 98(3) September 2012 and Plant Classification in vol. 102(1), and the Veld & Flora Factsheets on the Classification of Life in vol. The factsheet in the June 2016 issue of Veld & Flora follows on from the factsheet in the March 2016 issue of Veld & Flora, vol. This is the sporophyte phase of the fern life cycle. Blechnum attenuatum and other ferns growing on Montagu Pass in the Western Cape.