Pterophyta

1
Pterophyta

• By
• Alex Fitzmorris (Product Representative)
• Ahmed Khan (Technical Support)
• McCarty Jenkins (Image Research and Development)
• Zac Coleman (Slacker)
• Hour 5
• 4/6/09

2
Pterophyta Information

• Originated during Devonian period (359.2-416
  million years ago) of the Paleozoic era
• 12,000 different species
• About 8,000 live in tropical locations
• Others live in deserts, water, cliffs, Arctic
  regions, etc.
• Have adapted to all kinds of habitats

3
Adapting to Environment

• When water is not available, some stop
  reproduction and become dormant until water is
  available again (mostly desert ferns)
• In ancient times, were huge and were like trees
  now there is huge variation in size

4
Life Cycle of a Fern

• A sporophyte (diploid) phase produces haploid
  spores by meiosis
• A spore grows by mitosis into a gametophyte,
  which usually consists of a photosynthetic
  prothallus
• The gametophyte produces gametes (often both
  sperm and eggs on the same prothallus) by mitosis
  
• A mobile, flagellate sperm fertilizes an egg that
  remains attached to the prothallus
• The fertilized egg is now a diploid zygote and
  grows by mitosis into a sporophyte (the typical
  fern plant)

5
Fern Life Cycle
6
Fern Morphology
7
Fertilization

• Starts out as 2n sporophyte
• Creates sporangia in which meiosis occurs to make
  haploid cells
• The sporangia are grouped together in clusters
  called sori (sorus, singular) on the undersides
  of the leaves. They look like rusty brown
  rosettes.

8
Fertilization Images
Spores germinating to produce haploid gametophyte
9
Fertilization Dependency

• For the typical homosporous fern the gametophyte
  is bisexual
• A zygote eventually grows out of the haploid
  gametophyte into a new sporophyte
• This is where water is needed the most for sperm
  swimming and survival of the haploid gametophyte

10
Fertilization Dependency Image
11
Pterophyta Habitats

• There are about 12,000 species of ferns, and two
  thirds of them live in tropical areas.
• Some are aquatic and some dwell in deserts
• Ranged in time periods about 400 million to 300
  million years ago, as indicated by fossil records

12
Pterophyta Habitat Images
Ferns in a Forest
Whisk Ferns
13
Benefits to Humans

• Some ferns such as mosquito ferns are
  biologically enhanced fertilizers that are used
  by humans
• Some male ferns are used as vermifuge, a medicine
  for extracting wormlike organisms from animal
  bodies
• Some are used for decoration and floral displays,
  especially the Boston Ferns and the Birds Nest
  Fern
• Some are eaten, like Matteuccia struthiopteris
  (Ostrich Ferns) and Pteridium aquilinum (Bracken)
• Some possess various medicinal values (used as
  bandages, etc.)
• Many are manufactured and traded across the world
  for their many uses.

14
Pterophyta Images
15
Bibliography

• http//www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTo
  pic/Phylum-Pterophyta-Ferns.topicArticleId-23791,a
  rticleId-23768.html
• http//hcs.osu.edu/hcs300/svp2.htm
• http//www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/librar
  y/webb/BOT311/Cyanobacteria/Azolla.jpg
• http//images.google.com/imgres?imgurlhttp//www.
  ucmp.berkeley.edu/plants/pterophyta/psilotales/psi
  locoll.jpgimgrefurlhttp//www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/
  plants/pterophyta/psilotales.htmlusg__dHzic7--VB
  EnOe3AQI-
• aXJGTr2Qh302w448sz43hlenstart17um1tb
  nidoj-3deXJwB4xnMtbnh86tbnw127prev/images
  3Fq3Dpterophyta2Benvironment26hl3Den26sa3DN
  26um3D1
• http//images.google.com/images?hlenqpterophyta
  20speciesum1ieUTF-8saNtabwi