Tag: bryophyta

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.

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.