Explain why seedless vascular plants are commonly found in d

Explain why seedless vascular plants are commonly found in damp habitats.

Solution

SOLUTION:

Seedless vascular plants are plants that contain vascular tissue, but do not produce flowers or seeds. In seedless vascular plants, such as ferns and horsetails, the plants reproduce using haploid, unicellular spores instead of seeds. The spores are very lightweight (unlike many seeds), which allows for their easy dispersion in the wind and for the plants to spread to new habitats.

Water is required for fertilization of seedless vascular plants; most favor a moist environment.

The Seedless Vascular Plants consist of four main Divisions; Pterophyta (ferns), Psilophyta, Lycophyta, and Sphenophyta. These plants all share the common evolutionary trait of vascular tissue; specialized transport tissue found in most \"modern\" plants. This means the plant can now transport water and soil nutrition more efficiently allowing for greater complexity in plant structure including height and the ability to support a more complex structure of photosynthesis, leaves. Xylem and phloem, the two major types of vascular tissue, each transport water and nutrition, respectively, to the upper regions of the plant from the root system. The Vascular Seedless plants are the most evolutionarily advanced plants aside from the seeded plants

These three divisions along with the Pterophyta (ferns) are collectively known as the \"seedless vascular plants\". They have developed a vascular structure that permits the transport of water and nutrients but they do not reproduce by seeds

Uptake and distribution of water became possible when plants developed roots and xylem. The movement of food and nutrients required the differentiation of phloem. In the more primitive plants the conducting tissues are arranged in a cylinder with phloem surrounding xylem. This is a protostele and is an arrangement that flowering plants have retained in their roots. It allows for vascular continuity to be maintained between the root and the shoot or the shoot and any structures arising from it.