Plant Biology and Classification

The first true land plants were non-vascular plants such as mosses and liverworts that appeared in the early Ordovician period. 

Riccia has the simplest sporophyte among all bryophytes, consisting solely of a capsule. It lacks both a foot and a seta, which are present in other bryophytes like Marchantia, Anthoceros, and mosses.

In the plant kingdom atracheophytic embryophytes are bryophytes. Thye do not contain vascular tissues and produce embryo in their life cycle.

An antheridium or antherida is a haploid structure or organ producing and containing male gametes (called antherozoids or sperm). In general, the male gametes (antherozoids) are produced in globose structures (antheridia), that are either stalked or sunken in the gametophyte. The antherozoids of Marchantia are long, curved and biflagellate.

Elaters are structures present in plants. They are generally present to facilitate spore dispersal (liverworts) but are absent in mosses and spore dispersal is controlled by the peristome.

Anthoceros is a genus of hornworts in the family Anthocerotaceae. The genus is global in its distribution. Its name means 'flower horn', and refers to the characteristic horn-shaped sporophytes, that all hornworts produce. The dark color of the spores is the easiest way to distinguish Anthoceros.

Riccia belongs to the class Liver worts. They have dorsiventrally flattened lobed plant body with unicellular rhizoids. The mature sporophyte of Riccia is a globular capsule, embedded within the gametophytic plant and is without foot and seta. The sporophyte contains the mature haploid spores. The spores are liberated by the decay of venter wall and surrounding gametophytic tissue.

Marchantia forms small green disc-shaped biconvex structures, gammae, inside little and shallow gemmae cups. Gemmae are the mode of vegetative reproduction and form thalli on the suitable soil. Means of vegetative reproduction in Riccia include fragmentation, adventitious branches, persistent apices and tuber formation; it does not form gemmae. Sphagnum reproduces vegetatively by formation of innovations. Anthoceros reproduce vegetatively by progressive growth and death of thallus, tubers, persistent apices and gemmae in few species. Thus, the correct answer is option D.

Liverworts are a group of non-vascular plants belonging to the division Bryophyta. Volvox and Chlamydomonas are green algae, while ferns are pteridophytes.

Bryophytes comprises of three classes- Hepaticae (Liver worts), Anthocerotae (Horn worts) and Musci (Mosses). Mosses have erect radially symmetrical leafy plant body produced from a filamentous or thalloid juvenile stage called as protonema. The sporophyte contains large amount of green tissue and is partially dependent upon the gametophyte. e.g., Funaria (cord moss), Sphagnum (Bog or Peat moss), Polytrichum etc. 

The word bryophyte is the collective term for mosses, hornworts and liverworts and bryology is the study of bryophytes. Bryophytes derived from Greek, 'Bryon' means moss and 'phyte' means plant.