Pteridophyte

Characteristics of Pteridophyta

1. They are mostly grown as ornamentals.
2. They are commonly used for medical purposes and can also be used as soil binders.
3. The male sex organ is antheridia and the female organ is archegonia.
4.  Spores can be Homospores or Heterospores, they are formed in sporangia.
5. These pteridophytes plants possess both vascular tissues-xylem and phloem.
6. In the phloem, sieve tubes and companion cells are absent and, in the xylem, true vessels are absent.
7. They have well-differentiated structures such as leaves, stems, and roots as well as a vascular system.
8. They show true alteration of generation, as the saprophyte and the gametophyte generations are observed in pteridophytes.
9. Typical examples are ferns, Marsilea, Pteris, etc. Ferns encompass all living pteridophytes excluding lycopods and are vascular, unlike mosses and other bryophytes.

R.H Whittaker classified living organisms into five kingdoms based on cell structure, mode of nutrition, reproduction, and phylogenetic relationship. The five kingdoms are Monera, Protista, Fungi, Animalia, and Plantae.

Plant kingdoms have the following characteristics: 

• They are autotrophs, as they make their food by themselves. 
• They reproduce through both sexual and asexual modes (vegetative propagation). 
• They are non-motile. 
• They include multicellular and eukaryotic organisms
• The plant kingdom is further classified into Cryptogams and Phanerogams. 

Cryptogams are plants that reproduce by spores without seeds or flowers, known as cryptogams. Examples are ferns, lichens, algae, etc. They are further classified into Thallophyta, Bryophyta, and Pteridophyte. Phanerogams are seed-bearing plants. They are more advanced than cryptogams. They are further classified into Angiosperms and Gymnosperms. Here is a detailed explanation of Pteridophyta.