Normalment, when talking about plants we refer to those vascular plants that can be reproduced by seeds, but there are other seeds without seeds but that are also vascular, it is the division Pteridophyta. Pteridophytes are a group of plants of great importance in the lives of humans for about 400 million years.
In this ecology article, we will find out more about the Pteridophyte plants, what are, their types and examples.
What are pteridophyte plants – definition
Pteridophytes are perennial vascular plantswithout secondary growth and that They do not generate seeds during their vital cycles, but They are reproduced by spores. The spores are defined as unicellular or multicellular microscopic bodies formed with the objective of allowing dispersion and survival for a long time. The spores manage to germinate and develop very well in climates with high humidity.
They are also known as vascular cryptogams or ferns And they are quite primitive plants. They grow and develop in tropical climates (where they reach palm trees), temperate (with more herbaceous portes), wet or even some in arid areas. In addition, there are some aquatic or semiaccus subspecies, although none develops in salty waters.
Having conductive fabrics, which also support them, they manage to rise several meters above the ground. These fabrics also help you better capture light and, therefore, you can perform photosynthesis very completely. It is believed that ferns have been the first vegetables that adapted to live outside the water, although their vital cycles are very dependent on water.
The greatest importance of this group of plants is that they are often used for both human consumption and for their decorative and ornamental effects, such as young ferns and plants; If you have these plants at home, you may be interested in knowing the cultivation and care of ferns at home. In addition, some specimens are used for medicinal or therapeutic purposes, as is the case of the horse tail.
Types of pteridophyte plants
The vast majority of the public only knows the ferns, but there are enough more types. The types of pteridophyte plants most important are:
Equise
They popularly know with the name of horse tail. They have an underground rhizome from which a large number of aerial cuts come out. The leaves and stems of horse tails are hollow and easy to determine with respect to their fossil relatives, since they have characteristic ridges that differentiate them from other subspecies.
Licopodios and Selaginellas
This variety of pteridophytes has branched stems with simple leaves and are characterized by producing two types of spores: microspores and mega -spores.
Psilophytes
This type of pteridophytes is somewhat different from other types, since it has an underground stem, but the plant does not generate roots. Another characteristic of these pteridophytes is that their leaves are so small that you can think that they do not possess. Psilophytes are very related to a type of fossil plant of vascular origin, called Rhynia.
ISOETES
It is a genus of pteridophyte plants that are aquatic or semiacuatic. The ISOETES They have leaves with a hole in the middle and that are quite narrow. They usually grow and develop on wet ground, streams, lakes or rivers, but never in sea salt water. For this reason, they live mainly in jungles and forests.
Ferns
The ferns are the type of best known and used pteridophytes. More than 12,000 species of ferns are known in the world. These inhabit humid ecosystems and feed on wet air and water that slips through their stem. The ferns are the pteridophytes that thrive faster and, even, developing above other plants, being able to grow up to 5 meters in length.
Pteridophyte plants: examples
Some Examples of pteridophyte plants are:
Equise
- Common Horse or Equiseto (EQUISETUM ARVENSE): The most common equiseto of all. Widely used for its medicinal properties.
- Palustre Equiseto (Palustre Equisetum): It often produces poisoning, given its content in palustrine, and that can be confused with the common equiseto.
- Equiseto major (Equisetum telmateia): Sometimes it is used instead of the common equiseto, for its diuretic properties.
- Equisetum Hyemale: Toxic species up to 1.5 m. and very little branched.
- EQUISETUM RAMOSIMUM: Toxic species due to the palustrine. It does not have leaves.
- Equisetum giantum: Equiseto up to 5 m high. It is used in the southern hemisphere.
Licopodios and Selaginellas
- Lycopodium clavatum: Very cosmopolitan and common species, also in Spain.
- Lycopodium dark: Native species of the United States. Usual in tempered forests of conifers and deciduous.
- Lycopodium annotinum: usual herbaceous species in coniferous forests in the northern hemisphere.
- Selaginella Apoda: Native Licófita of the Eastern Region of the United States and Northwest of Mexico
Psilophytes
In this case there are few species and stand out:
- Psilotum complanatum.
- PSILOTUM NUDUM.
ISOETES
- Lacustris isoets: It is distributed in northern regions of America and Europe.
- Durieui isoettes: Perennial plant with short underground stem. It can be found in the Mediterranean, as in Andalusia, where it is declared a vulnerable species.
Ferns
- Blecno (Blechnum gibbum).
- Horn horn (Platycerium bifurcatum).
- Deer tongue (Phyllintis Scolopendrium).
- Culantrillo (Adiantum capillus).
- Ave nest (Asplenium nests).
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