Life Cycle of Pteridophytes
Pteridophytes show an alternation of generation life cycle in which dominant diploid sporophytic generation takes up most of their life span whereas the haploid gametophytic generation is short-lived. Their life cycle is haplodiplontic in which the prophase and diplophase are almost equally balanced. Both the generations are independent of each other and are free-living. The diploid generation produces the spores whereas the haploid generation produces the gametes. These spores travel to different places and then in moist and damp place germinates into independent gametophytes called the prothallus which bears the male anthredia and female archegonia that forms the sperm and egg respectively. The sperm and egg fuse to form the zygote that develops into a multicellular sporophyte.
Pteridophyta – Definition, Characteristics, Classification, Uses
Pteridophyta is a division of the kingdom Plantae that consists of plants that dominated the planet before the evolutionary appearance of seed-producing plants. Pteridophytes lack both flower and seed and reproduce mainly with the help of spores. Pteridophytes are the first group of plants that have evolved to show the vascular system.