BOT 102 LEECTURE IV
Classification in the Plants Kingdom
Variation and Classification
VARIETY OF FORMS IN VASCULAR PLANTS
Introduction
Vascular plants are those with specialized internal tissues for conducting water and mineral
salts from the soil to the leaves (i.e. xylem elements) and for conducting the products of
photosynthesis and related food items to different parts of the plant (i.e. the phloem
elements). The vascular system is a further adaptation to terrestrial habitat.
There is considerable variation in the organization and complexity of the vascular system in
plants. In primitive vascular plants (e.g. Psilotum), the vascular system in the roots and the
stems are similar. In vascular plants, unlike the bryophytes, the sporophyte is the dominant
generation and it shows a progressive increase in size and complexity along the evolutionary
ladder. The sporophyte is independent of the gametophyte generation and there is a
progressive reduction of the size of the gametophyte from a conspicuous thallus of many cells
in the primitive vascular plants such as the ferns and fern allies, to just about three to eight
cells in the flowering plants.
Psolitum: A very Primitive Vascular Plant
Species of Psilotum represent some of the most primitive vascular plants. The plant body,
which has horizontal and vertical axes, is not differentiated into stems and roots. The plant
obtains water and mineral salts from the soil through rhizoids as in the bryophytes. The
anatomy of the stem is root-like. The vertical axes are photosynthetic and they have stomata.
The leaf-like appendages on the vertical axes of the plant body are not true leaves as they
lack vascular supply from the stele. Branching as in other primitive forms, is dichotomous.
Species of Psilotum are small plants (up to 33 cm tall) found in moist, humid soils in warm
environments. In Nigeria, they are found in highland locations such as Obudu Plateau. These
are the sporophytes which, as said above, are the dominant generation among the vascular
plants. At maturity, three-lobed sporangia are borne on the vertical axes. The sporangium is
the structure that contains haploid spores. It originates from diploid cells of the stem. The
spores are uniform in size and shape i.e. the plant is homosporous.
Species of Psilotum
The spores are liberated to germinate into a cylindrical, dichotomously-branched
gametophyte. The gametophytes are saprophytic, they are often associated with certain
filamentous fungi in mycorrhizal relationships and they are hardly visible to the naked eye.
Externally, they have many rhizoids but internally, they are largely parenchymatous. At
maturity, archegonia are borne at the terminal ends of the cylindrical branches while
antheridia are borne as protuberances lower down on the branches. When the antheridia are
ripe, sperms with many flagella are released. They swim into the archegonia where they
fertilize the eggs. The zygote subsequently develops into a sporophyte.
Advances in Vascular and Reproductive Systems- Lycopodium
Lycopodium is the genus of the so-called club mosses although they are not mosses. They are
encountered in wet highland locations and other water parts of Nigeria. The spores of
Lycopodium are homosporous. Following the discharge of the spores, and under favourable
conditions, they germinate into a gametophyte which may be 2-3 mm long at maturity. The
gametophyte is saprophytic as in Psilotum and it has mycorrhizal association. The antheridia
and archegonia are produced on the same plant at the crown while the antheridia produce
numerous biflagellate sperms which are released at maturity to fertilize eggs in the
archegonia.
Lycopodium
Lycopodium
Advances in Vascular and Reproductive Systems- Selaginella
Selaginella is a large Selaginella-like genus with small leaves and with dichotomous or
monopodial branching pattern. While some species are erect, some are climbers and yet
others are prostrate runners. The branching of the stem is most commonly in one plane. The
plants are found mostly in wet open or shaded locations.
Selaginella
The leaves are sessile on the stem and four-ranked. The leaves are spirally arranged. Unlike
in Lycopodium, the leaves of Selaginella have a chlorophyllous adaxial appendage. True roots
are present. In Selaginella, there are two kinds of sporangia – megasporangia and
microsporangia. These produce megaspores and microspores. Clearly because of the
heterospory observed, the gametophytic generation is dioecious in Selaginella.
As in Lycopodium, motile sperm produced from the antheridia fertilize the eggs in the
archegonia.
The Ferns: The Most Advanced Vascular Non-Seed Plants
The ferns are a very large group of vascular plants often assigned the status of the entire
division (Pteridophyte) by some botanists. Some ferns have very well-developed stems and
attain huge sizes as in the tree ferns (Cyathea sp.). While many species are terrestrial (such
as Pittyrograma sp.) or found on wet rock surfaces (such as Ophioglosum sp.); many of them
such as Oleandra sp. and Platycerium sp. are epiphytes. A species of Lydodium is a common
climber in Southern Nigeria. The leaf forms range from simple leaves in Ophioglosum to
highly divided or compound leaves in Arthropteris sp. The ferns have succeeded in
colonizing various terrestrial habitats including fresh water and brackish swamps and
relatively dry locations. Many ferns are potted as decorative plants.
The plant body is differentiated into stems, roots and leaves. The plant body is also covered
with species-specific types of scales. The name Pteridophyte means scaly plant. Arthropteris
sp., the spore is homosporous.
