Seed-free Vascular Plants I Flashcards
What are characteristics of the phyla Lycopodiophyta (spike mosses, club mosses, and quillworts)?
1) The leaves are microphyls, or, simple, small, one-veined leaves.
2) The spore producers on the sporophytes are located singly or on the upper surface or in axils of the bracts of a cone or green leaves.
How did microphyls evolve?
Via the process of enation - or an lateral, veinless outgrowth - and vascularization of said outgrowth.
Describe and characterize….
Lycopodiaceae
Club Mosses
15 genera and ~375 species
Cosmopolitan distribution, with most distribution in the tropics.
Evergreen, stems elongate, and dichotomously branching. Leaves typically densely cover the stem.
Homosporous, meaning they produce spores that are neither male nor female.
Oily compounds in the cell walls ignite rapidly into a flash of light and were used by magicians and sorcerers in the Middle Ages. More recently they were used as a flash early in photography and in experimental photocopying machines. Many species over-collected for Christmas wreaths.
Some examples of species:
- Huperzia lucidula , Shining Clubmoss
- Dendrolycopodium obscurum, Ground Pine
- Lycopodiella innundata, Bog Club Moss
Describe and characterize….
Selaginellaceae
Spike Mosses
1 genus and about 750 species
Mianly tropical, but with some species extending into the arctic region of both hemispheres.
Leaves spirally arranged and often four-ranked on the secondary and ultimate branches.
Spores borne in or near the axils of well-differentiated sporophylls, usually on 4-sided strobili.
Unlike Lycopodiaceae, Selaginellaceae are heterosporous with different types of spores: microspores and megaspore (not related to size) the micro give rise to male gametophytes and the mega give rise to the female gametophytes.
Examples of the species:
- Selaginella eclipes, Meadow spike moss
- Selaginella rupestris, Rock spike moss
- Selaginella selaginoides, Northern spike moss
Describe and characterize…
Isoetaceae
Quillworts
1 genus and 150 species worldwide, with 2 in WI - Isoetes echinospora being the most common.
Aquatic or semi-aquatic plants with corm-like stems with secondary growth. Absorb carbon through their roots.
Leaves that are quite long for microphyls and contain a spore sack (“sporangia”) at the base of each leaf.
Heterosporus, with the outer leaves having male spore sacks and the inner having female.
Examples of species:
- Isoetes echinospora
- Isoetes butleri* (Not native)
Describe and characterize…
Equistaceae
Horsetails and Scouring Rushes
1 genus, 15 species with cosmo distribution, and with 9 native to WI.
Plants are primarily colonizers of unforested areas, lake margins and wetlands.
Produce 2 stalks - the fertile “jointgrass” and sterile “horsetail”.
Shoots monomorphic or dimorphic.
Leaves in whorls; leaves one veined, verticillate, united to form a sheath around the stem; these leaves are probably reduced megaphylls: Megaphylls are larger than microphylls have a blade that has a complex system of veins.
Sporangia clustered terminally in cones composed of polygonal, umbrella-like structures with sporangia beneath.
Horsetails are homosporous, have green spores with hygroscopic elators, and form conspicuous green gametophytes.
What are characteristics of the phyla Polypodiophyta (the true ferns)?
Most diverse group of vascular cryptograms, in terms of both diverse ranges of form and species (about 11,000 currently).
Like horsetails, the leaves are also megaphylls - the blade is called the frond, and the petioles as stipes.
Have sporangia on the bottoms of leaves known as sori - are protected by an “indusium”, and are known for their variation among species.
Ferns can be either hetero or homosporus.
What is “Circinate venation”?
Vernation is the arrangement of folded leaves in a bud, forming what is known as a “fiddlehead”.
They are coiled up or rolled at the tip and unfold lengthwise as they emerge. This is due to both auxin and differential growth rates of tissue.
Helps protect the young buds!
What is an annulus?
An annulus is a cluster of a row of cells that have thick walls. They open the sporangia and catapult the spores into the air.
Describe and characterize…
Ophioglossaceae
Adder’s Tongues
Primitive ferns, of which there are 4 genera in Wisconsin - Botrychium (now 3 genera) and Ophioglossum.
Sporangia are on an erect axis with a green blade attached below the sporangia bearing part.
Some examples of species:
- Ophioglossum pussilla - Adder’s Tongue Fern
- Botrychia mormo - Goblin Fern
- Botrychium lunaria - Moonwort Fern
Describe and characterize…
Osmundaecae
Royal Ferns
Just 3 species in WI, all of which are easily separated from each other by observing the position of fertile portions along the stalk.
Sporangia for a frond without chlorophyll, which a distinctive golden-brown “spike”.
Examples of species
- O**smunda cinnamomea, Cinnamon Fern
- Osmunda claytoniana, Interrupted Fern
- Osmunda regalis, Royal Fern
Describe and characterize…
Dennstaedtiaceae
Brackens
2 genera in WI, including one of the most widespread of all vascular plants!
Clonal with rhizomes, and have large compound leaves. Ubiquitous in WI.
Marginal sori, with revolute leaf edges protecting the sori. This is unlike most other ferns, which have sori near the center of the front.
Examples of species:
- Pteridium aquilinum, Bracken Fern
Describe and characterize…
Pteridaceae
Maidenhair Ferns
4 genera in Wisconsin, and found all over the state.
Sori lack true indusia and can be bare or are protected by revolute margins.
Examples of species:
- Adiantum pedatum, Maidenhair Fern
- Adiantum pedatum* has a distinctive compound frond with dark purple rachis and stipe.
Define and characterize…
Aspleniaceae
Spleenworts
1 genus in Wisconsin.
Characterized by kidney-shaped or linear sori near the edge of the ront, with flap-like indusium arising along one side.
Examples of species:
- Asplenium viride, Green Spleenwort
- Asplenium platyneuron, Ebony Spleenwort
Describe and characterize..
Onocleaeceae
Sensitive Ferns
2 genera in Wisconsin, including Matteucia (ostrich fern).
Dimorphic fronds, with the sterile front pinnately lobed.
The fertile fronds turn black.
Examples of species:
- Onoclea sensibilis, Sensitive Fern
Describe and characterize…
Dryopteridaeceae
Woodferns
A large, diverse group of ferns! 2 genera and 13 species in Wisconsin.
Too varied for convinient patterns of identification.
Examples of species:
- Polystichum acrosticoides, Christmas Fern
- Dryopteris intermedia, Shield Fern
Describe and characterize…
Polypodiaecae
Rockcaps
Only a single species in Wisconsin!
Distinctive fronds: simple, pinnately lobed, and leathery. They tend to colonize bare rock.
Sori are in two rows along each lobe.
Examples of species
- Polypodium virginianum, Rockcap Fern
Describe and characterize…
Salviniaecae
Mosquito Ferns
Just 2 species in Wisconsin.
Reduced ferns with 2 ranked leaves, each with 2 lobes.
Heterosporus, and has a symbiotic relationship with the N2 fixing algae Anabaena azollae.
Examples of species:
- Azolla mexicana
- Azolla caroliniana, Floating Fern
Athyrium
Lady-ferns
Resembling a more delicate wood fern, are common in all but the wettest forests in WI. 2 species in Wisconsin.
Fronds taper to a delicate tip and have shaggy scales along the stipe.
Sori are elongated, and shaped like bananas or crescent moons.
Indusia are folded over the spores.
Dendrolycopodium
Ground-pines and Tree Clubmosses
3 species in Wisconsin, that can be told apart by the rigidity of their leaves.
Sporangia borne in strobili (cones) at the tips of branches.
They also have side branches that are borne parallel to the ground, giving them the appearance of tiny pine trees.
When fresh, the leaves are very soft and smooth to the touch.
Equisetum
Horsetails and Scouring Rushes
Equistaceae
Have high silica content in the stems, thus the name.
13 species in Wisconsin, and the only living genus in Equistaceae. Used to dominate the forests of the late Paleozoic.
Dryopteris
Wood ferns and Shield ferns
Some of the most common ferns in the woods of Wisconsin!
Members range from twice to even four times pinnate. Some are evergreen.
Sori have very prominent indusia.
Osmunda
Cinnamon or Interrupted ferns
Osmundaceae
Common roadside ferns often found in ditches or culverts.
They are easily distinguished by their dimorphic fronds, which bear separate sterile, photosynthetic pinnae, and fertile, non-photosynthetic pinnae.
- In the cinnamon fern (O. cinnamea), the fertile pinnae are held erect like a wand
- In the intterrupted fern (O. claytoniana), the fertile pinnae occur between two “interrupted” groups of sterile pinnae along the stipe.
Huperzia lucidulum
- Sporangia located along the stem keys it down to Huperzia
- Obovate leaves that are broadest at the middle or beyond.
Adiantum pedatum
Pteridaceae
- Very dark rachis, divided into two equal branches
- Elongated sori are attached to the underside of a flase indusium.
Polypodium virginianum
-Pinnatifid blades are less than 7cm and sori are round, and this combination of characteristics is unique in WI flora.
- Pteridium aquilinum*
- -*Blades are 3-pinnate, broadly triangular and held relatively horizontally.
- A single individual can be huge, all joined underground at the rhizome.
Onoclea sensibilis
- common in wetlands of all kinds.
- Modified pinnae of fertile fronds form distinctive “beads”.
