Characteristics :
Ferns:
- Have tubes for carrying food and water throughout plant
- Have roots, underground stems (rhizomes), and leaves (fronds)
- Leaf cells contain chlorophyll, the pigment for making food
- Reproduce by using both a single-celled reproductive structure (spore) and a sexual union of egg and sperm cells; may also reproduce by runners; do not make flowers or seeds; must have water in order for sperm to reach egg c
Mosses:
- Grow upright
- Have no tube-like structures for carrying food and water, therefore must absorb water from soil and air
- Do not have true roots, stems, or leaves
- Reproduce byusing both a single-celled reproductive structure (spore) and a sexual union of egg and sperm cells; do not make flowers or seeds
- Must have water in order for sperm to reach the egg cell
Horsetails:
- Have both upright stems and horizontal stems, called rhizomes, that extend along the ground; roots emerge from the rhizomes
- Upright stems are green and jointed; straw-shaped leaves emerge from the joints forming a whorl
- Stems cintain crystals of silica, making the plant abrasive
Taxanomy:
Classification of ferns, mosses, and horsetails is undergoing restructuring. Listed below is a possible system of classification for these organisms, taken only to the phylum level.
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Anthocerophyta (hornworts)
- Class: Anthocerota
- Bryophyta (mosses)
- Andreaopsida (granite mosses)
- Bryopsida (true mosses)
- Sphagnopsida (peat mosses)
- Hepatophyta (liverworts)
- Jungemanniidea (similar to moss in appearance)
- Marchantiopsida (leaf-like in appearance)
- Phylum: Anthocerophyta (hornworts)
Ferns and Fern allies
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Polypodiophyta (ferns)
- Class
- Filicopsida (maidenhair ferns, others)
- Marattiopsida (giant ferns)
- Ophioglossopsida (graper ferns)
- Lycopodiophyta (club mosses)
- Lycopodiopsida
- Psilophyta (wisk fern)
- Psilopsida
- Equistophyta (horsetails)
- Equisetopsida
- Class
- Phylum: Polypodiophyta (ferns)
Feature content:
No