Warmup 9/24/15 Write a story to go with the following picture. Focus on the plants. Objective Tonight’s Homework Classify ferns and other vascular plants without seeds pp 294: 1, 2, 3, 4

Notes on Ferns All plants except those related to mosses have a vascular system. They use this system to transport water and dissolved minerals. Ferns and other related plants in phylum pterophyta are vascular, but strangely don’t have seeds.

Notes on Ferns Fern Shapes Ferns can be found in many locations, and grow in many ways. Some are what we call epiphytes. These plants live on others but aren’t parasitic. Examples include plants like bromeliads.

Notes on Ferns Some are tree ferns, which grow on long trunks. These trunks are actually hard stems, not solid wood. The Australian tree fern is a prime example.

Notes on Ferns Some are tree ferns, which grow on long trunks. These trunks are actually hard stems, not solid wood. The Australian tree fern is a prime example. Some grow as vines, like this climbing vine fern.

Notes on Ferns Some are tree ferns, which grow on long trunks. These trunks are actually hard stems, not solid wood. The Australian tree fern is a prime example. Some grow as vines, like this climbing vine fern. Others grow floating in water, like the water sprite.

Notes on Ferns Fern Structure The base of the fern is composed of the roots. These are true roots, absorbing nutrients for the plant. v

Notes on Ferns Fern Structure The base of the fern is composed of the roots. These are true roots, absorbing nutrients for the plant. The connect to the rhizome, an underground stem. v

Notes on Ferns Fern Structure The base of the fern is composed of the roots. These are true roots, absorbing nutrients for the plant. The connect to the rhizome, an underground stem. The upper part is called the frond. These are usually thin and delicate.

Notes on Ferns The Life Cycle of Ferns We’ll start with the fern itself. The fern is a sporophyte and will be producing spores on the underside of some of the fronds.

Notes on Ferns The Life Cycle of Ferns These spores are called sori, and are collected together as sporangia.

Notes on Ferns The Life Cycle of Ferns These sporangia divide through meiosis, and are haploid, containing only half the chromosomes of the parent fern. We denote this as “n”, representing n chromosomes

Notes on Ferns The Life Cycle of Ferns These spores form the gametophyte phase of the fern. This phase of the plant is rather short-lived and quite small (3 to 5 cm at most).

Notes on Ferns The Life Cycle of Ferns As this phase grows, it turns into a prothallus, a small, flat, heart-shaped plant containing sexual organs for male and female reproduction.

Notes on Ferns The Life Cycle of Ferns Here we see the familiar antheridium and archegonium. Like in mosses, the sperm needs liquid water to swim to the egg.

Notes on Ferns The Life Cycle of Ferns After fertilization, the fern begins to grow and the prothallus dies. We’ve now looped around to the diploid phase. These contain 2n chromosomes and we call them diploid.

Notes on Ferns Other Seedless Plant Phyla There are 3 other phyla besides the ferns. Sphenophyta These are the horsetails. Their roots continue to grow year after year, but the stalk above-ground dies every year.

Notes on Ferns Lycophyta These are called club mosses even though they aren’t actually mosses. Most of these are evergreens and grow needles. The spores are usually stored in the tips of the needles.

Notes on Ferns Psilophyta These are the whiskferns. These strange plants are made mostly of rhizoids and contain no true roots or leaves. Instead, they create small scales.

Exit Question What principal difference separates ferns from mosses? a) Ferns have a gametophyte, mosses have a sporophyte b) Ferns have a sporophyte, mosses have a gametophyte c) Ferns have a vascular system d) Mosses have a vascular system e) There is no principal difference f) None of the above