fern
Sign in to saveThe ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (land plants with vascular tissues such as xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from non-vascular plants (mosses, hornworts and liverworts) by having specialized transport bundles that conduct water and nutrients from and to the roots, as well as life cycles in which the branched sporophyte is the dominant phase.
AI overview
Ferns are vascular plants that reproduce through spores rather than seeds or flowers, and they have specialized tissues that transport water and nutrients throughout their bodies. They represent an important group of land plants where the leafy plant we see (the sporophyte) dominates their life cycle, distinguishing them from simpler plants like mosses that lack these transport systems.
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Article
28 sectionsContents
- Description
- Sporophyte
- Gametophyte
- Life cycle and reproduction
- Taxonomy
- Molecular phylogenetics
- Phylogeny
- Nomenclature and subdivision
- Evolution and biogeography
- Distribution and habitat
- Ecology
- Uses
- Culture
- Pteridology
- Pteridomania
- Other applications
- Folklore
- New Zealand
- Organisms confused with ferns
- Misnomers
- Fern-like flowering plants and gymnosperms
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- Books
- Journal articles
- Websites
The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (land plants with vascular tissues such as xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from non-vascular plants (mosses, hornworts and liverworts) by having specialized transport bundles that conduct water and nutrients from and to the roots, as well as life cycles in which the branched sporophyte is the dominant phase.
Ferns have complex leaves called megaphylls that are more complex than the microphylls of clubmosses. Most ferns are leptosporangiate ferns that produce coiled fiddleheads that uncoil and expand into fronds. The group includes about 10,560 known extant species. Ferns are defined here in the broad sense, being all of the Polypodiopsida, comprising both the leptosporangiate (Polypodiidae) and eusporangiate ferns, the latter group including horsetails, whisk ferns, marattioid ferns and ophioglossoid ferns.