Spore Shedding Vascular
Plants
Psilotum
Lycopodium
Equisetum
Huperzia a forest wetlands dwelling lycophyte
These plants are the diploid sporophyte
Huperzia lucidula a wetlands-dwelling lycophyte
http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/plants/lycopodium-lucidulum060727-3857bchmtnz.jpg
Huperzia root cross-section
epidermis
cortex
protoxylem
xylem
metaxylem
phloem
amphiphloic
plectostele
exarch
Protosteles:
haplosteles
actinostele
plectostele
Siphonosteles:
siphonostele
solenostele
dictyostele
cortex
phloem
xylem
cortex
phloem
xylem
pith
leaf gap
leaf trace
eustele
dicot
stem
atactostele
monocot
stem
microphyll
sporophyll
sporangium
spores
stem
gemma
http://home.manhattan.edu/~frances.cardillo/plants/v
ascular/lucidum6.jpg
last year’s
sporophylls
Huperzia root cross-section with branch root cross sections
Huperzia microphyll cross section
mesophyll
cutinized epidermis
vascular bundle
stoma
http://www.twofrog.com/images/groundpine58.jpg
Lycopodium obscurum a forest-dwelling lycophyte
The
sporophylls
are organized
into a terminal
strobilus.
Lycopodium
obscurum
sporophytes
demonstrate
dichotomous
branching.
Microphylls
are spirally
arranged with
some
flattening of
the branch
system.
Lycopodium
obscurum
strobili are not
interrupted by
microphylls.
Sporophylls
are not photosynthetic.
Strobilus Longisection
sporophyll
sterile jacket
spores (1N)
sporangium
stalk
All the spores are
the same small size,
so Lycopodium is
homosporous.
The spores are shed
into the wind.
Lycopodium gametophytes may be photosynthetic
http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/l/wlyal5-gamicro16920.JPG
The sperm
is flagellated
and
chemotactic
http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/webb/bot311/bot311-00/LycoRepro/Lycopodium_sperm.jpg
Diphasiastrum complanatum a forest-dwelling lycophyte
http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/plants/lycopodium-digitatum060709-8672alamancez.jpg
http://128.253.177.181/users/robbin/9_7_05/upload90/Lycopodiella_X_gilmanii_ME48.JPG
Lycopodiella alopecuroides a grassland dwelling lycophyte
Lycopodium innundatum a bog-dwelling lycophyte
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1270/1048564007_47acf0621a.jpg?v=0
Rhynia was a
Psilotum-like swamp
dwelling organism
living with
Protolepidodendron,
the herbaceous
ancestor of woody
Lepidodendron in
swamps during the
Devonian period.
Lepidodendron was a
large lycophyte tree
living in marshes. Dead
plants and spores built
up in the peat of the
marshes, were later
overrun with sediments,
and by heat and
pressure were converted
to coal.