Seedless Vascular Plants

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Seedless Vascular Plants

• Plants with a vascular system
• but no seeds

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Seedless Vascular Plants

• Phylum Pterophyta
• Phylum Lycophyta
• Phylum Sphenophyta
• Phylum Psilophyta

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Phylum PterophytaFerns

• 11,000 species
• habitat wetlands, especially in tropics
• dominant generation is the sporophyte plant

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Phylum PterophytaFerns

• Structures
• vascular system xylem and phloem
• tracheids (water conducting cells) reinforced
  therefore can grow taller than non-vascular
  plants
• roots, stems (rhizomes)
• leaves (fronds)
• fiddleheads coiled baby fronds

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Phylum PterophytaFerns

• Reproduction
• Alternation of generations
• Dependent on water for sperm to swim to egg
• use spores to reproduce
• reproductive spores in sporangia, on undersides
  of fronds
• Clusters of sporangia sori (singular sorus)

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Fern Life Cycle

• gametophytes are small, flat and independent
  (bearded heart)
• gametophyte dies as sporophyte grows

gametophyte
sporophyte
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Fern Reproduction
frond underside with sori
sporangium
fiddlehead
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Phylum PterophytaFerns

• Examples
• leather leaf
• Maidenhair

leatherleaf
Boston fern
maidenhair
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Phylum PterophytaFerns
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Phylum PterophytaFerns
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Phylum LycophytaClub mosses

• have vascular tissue
• roots, stems and leaves
• leafy green stems branch from underground rhizome
• (stem)

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Phylum LycophytaClub mosses

• Habitat
• wetlands
• Example Lycophyta
• Dominant generation
• sporophyte
• ?Ancient species
• (now extinct) very
• successful during
• dinosaur days

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Phylum LycophytaClub mosses

•          
• Lepidodendron  was a giant
• tree-like club moss. It towered
• to 45 m in height and flourished
• in the swamp forests of the
• Carboniferous. 

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Phylum LycophytaClub mosses

• Reproduction
• alternation of generations
• use spores (no seeds)
• spores develop in sporangia on specialized leaves
  of sporophyte in cones
• (clubs)

Club moss reproductive structures
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Phylum SphenophytaHorsetails / snakegrass

• have vascular tissue
• roots (rhizomes),
• leaves, jointed stems
• seedless
• habitat wetlands
• especially common
• along
• stream banks

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Phylum SphenophytaHorsetails / snakegrass

• alternation of generations
• spores form in
• cones at tips of stems

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Phylum SphenophytaHorsetails / snakegrass

• Example Equisetum

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Phylum SphenophytaHorsetails / snakegrass

• Dominant generation
• sporophyte
• Use
• During Colonial Frontier
• times, used to scour, or
• scrub, pots and pans. 
• Natures own Brillo Pad. 

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Phylum PsilophytaWhisk ferns

• seedless
• habitat wetlands
• most closely resemble earliest vascular plants
• vascular tissue have branched stems and roots
  (no leaves)

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Phylum PsilophytaWhisk ferns

• Interesting fact
• among the earliest known vascular plants found
  in fossil record, and are the simplest living
  vascular plants

Cooksonia
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Phylum PsilophytaWhisk ferns

• Reproduction
• spores form in sporangia at
• tips of short branches
• Use

• Hawaiians often collect the spores and
• use them as talcum powder

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Phylum PsilophytaWhisk ferns

• Example Psilotum