Question

What are bryophytes and pteridophytes?

Answer 1

1. Bryophytes and pteridophytes come under the kingdom ‘Plantae’.
2. Bryophytes are the simplest and most primitive land plants. As they are terrestrial but need water for completing their life cycle, they are called amphibians of the plant kingdom.
3. In these, plants possess stem-like and leaf-like structures but lack xylem and phloem (vascular tissues), for example, moss.
4. They prefer to grow in shady and damp places.
5. Pteridophytes were the first plant group to have a true vascular system for the conduction of water, minerals, and food.
6. The word pteridophyte comes from the word ‘Pteron’ meaning feather and ‘phyton’ meaning plant.
7. Thus, pteridophytes are those plants that possess feather-like leaves, for example, ferns.