Psilopsida
Introduction
Psilopsida is a group of ferns under the division Tracheophyta. They are commonly known as
whisk ferns. It has two orders under it – Psilophytales and Psilotales. In the early nomenclature
of IUCN, Psilopsida was included under Pteridophytes, but later Latter Eames did further study
and realised that the vascular system of Psilopsida is very different from Pteridophytes and
therefore named a new division Tracheophyta.
Tracheophyta has four subdivisions which are as follows:
Psilopsida
Lycopsida
Sphenopsida
Pteropsida
Characteristics of Psilopsida
1. They are seedless plants.
2. They are rootless plants. Rhizomes exist as underground stems where the sporophyte is
anchored.
3. The shoots grow aerially and branch into smaller stems.
4. Rhizomes have hair-like structures called rhizoids which are responsible for the
absorption of water and nutrients.
5. The vascular system is very simple, primitive and protostelic.
6. The plant is usually leafless, and leaves, if present, are in the appearance of scaly
appendages or foliage leaves.
7. The plant grows as a sporophyte.
8. Secondary growth is not present.
Life Cycle of Psilopsida
Sporangia are found on the aerial leaf-like appendages, which bear spores.
The spores are formed meiotically in groups of four from the spore mother cell.
The spores are released from the plant and find wet soil to germinate.
The spores give rise to a gametophyte which is very tiny and colourless.
The gametophyte bears archegonia and antheridia.
The fertilisation of the egg and sperm takes place via water.
The resulting zygote then develops into a new sporophytic body.
Lycopsida
Selaginella
Selaginella is a pteridophyte. It is also called spikemoss or club moss. It is the largest and the
only living genus of the family Selaginellaceae. It contains more than 800 species distributed all
around the world with the highest diversity found in the tropical regions.
They are seedless vascular plants. They are mostly found in shady areas, some species are also
present in seasonal dry or xerophytic conditions. They are found on tree trunks, rocks, forest
floors, etc.
Structure
The main plant body is a sporophyte. It is a vascular plant and is differentiated into root, stem
and leaves. Some of the important features are:
Morphology
1. It is an evergreen, profusely branched and delicate herb.
2. Primary roots are short-lived. The adventitious roots are present at the tips of
rhizophore.
3. Rhizophores are leafless colourless branches that develop from the prostrate stem and
grow downwards. When it reaches the soil, adventitious roots develop at the tip of
rhizophores.
4. Stem is green, dichotomously branched, erect or prostrate with erect branches.
5. A single apical cell is generally present at the growing tip of the stem.
6. Leaves are small with pointed tips. They bear scaly leaves.
7. Leaves contain unbranched midrib.
8. The subgenus homophyllum has spirally arranged leaves of the same kind.
9. The subgenus heterophyllum consists of two types of leaves. Small leaves are present at
the dorsal side and bigger leaves are present at the ventral side of the stem as pairs.
10. Sporophylls or spore bearing leaves are similar in structure to the ordinary leaves but
are present in a cluster known as strobilli. They are usually present at the tip of
branches and bear sporangia.
11. Ligules are small outgrowth present at the adaxial side of the leaf at the base.
Life Cycle
Selaginella like other pteridophytes show alternation of generations. The life cycle alternates
between diploid sporophyte and haploid gametophyte generation. This type of life cycle is
called a haplo-diplontic life cycle.
The sporophyte is the dominant phase in the life cycle. The main plant body is a diploid
sporophyte and is differentiated into true roots, stem and leaves.
Selaginella is heterosporous, i.e. it produces two kinds of spores; microspores and megaspores.
Spores are haploid and produced by meiosis in the spore mother cells. Spores germinate into
male and female gametophytes. They are small but free-living, multicellular and
photosynthetic.
Male and female gametophytes bear antheridia and archegonia, respectively. The fusion of
male and female gametes results in the formation of a diploid zygote that develops into a well-
differentiated sporophyte.
Sphenopsida
Equisetum
The family Equisetaceae comprises one genus, Equisetum. All around the world, there are close
to 15 known species of Equisetum. The most commonly occurring species in lowa are
Equisetum hyemale (scouring rush) and Equisetum arvense (field horsetail).
The Equisetum in the world of Botany is most closely associated with ferns. As seen in ferns,
Equisetum does not produce seeds, rather reproduce through sexual modes via spore
formation. In the spreading of equisetum, however, spores are comparatively not as important.
They give rise to an extensive underground rhizome system expanding across 4 feet or more. Its
patches radially extend as rhizomes expand outward from the patch center. The lateral spread
of horsetail is comparatively slower in the absence of soil disturbance which pushes the
rhizome pieces.
Structure and form of growth
Equisetum, commonly addressed to as “horsetails”, possesses a distinct growth form. Their
spores are capable of travelling along the ground. They are usually found inhabiting the wet
environments and are considered to be semi-aquatic. They exhibit a unique form of growth
which sets them apart from ferns. Its uniqueness comes from roots, stems and leaves.
Seemingly, stems of Equisetum take form via the combination of many small segments,
resembling the stems of rushes. These stems either project as straight stalks or creep along the
ground. These are strengthened with silica and are hollow. This reinforcement causes their
stems to stiffen and provides strength.
Leaves of Equisetum are seen in a whorl-like appearance with them growing from the same
point surrounding the stem. Their branches too, grow in the same pattern. Some of the species
possess small scale-like leaves, and most of the time give the impression of being leafless. On
the other hand, some species possess slender, long leaves providing the plants with a feathery
appearance. Leaves sprout from nodes while the base of leaves is united surrounding the stem
creating a collar.
A striking feature of the leaves of Equisetum is the presence of a single vein in the leaves. This
trait is shared with lycophytes and this feature in horsetails is believed to have recently
evolved.
The rhizomes of the Equisetum species grow much deeper in the surface of the ground. Some
of these species possess strobili which are responsible to generate and protect the spores for
the purpose of reproduction.
Commonly, this species is not very tall, their average height is close to 2 m. The tallest they can
grow is 8 m.
Reproduction In Equisetum
The sporophytes of horsetails reproduce by spore production and vegetative modes.
1. Formation of spores – Spores are formed on strobili or cones, special spore-bearing
structures. These cones project individually at the apex of fertile shoots. The primitive kind of
cone is a sub-sessile and is apiculate whereas the advanced form of it is stalked with a rounded
apex. In some species, annulus (ring-like outgrowth) is seen.
2. Vegetative reproduction – it occurs by two modes
Tubers – a round tuber in a few species is developed in rhizomes. When parted from the
mother rhizome, the individual tuber goes on to grow into a brand-new plant and hence serving
as a mode of vegetative propagation in sporophytes.
Primordia – each branch possesses preformed branch primordial that develops into aerial
branches and subterranean once the old rhizome decays.
