Title: 
Headings: Kingdom Plantae, Part I - Bryophytes and Ferns
Kingdom
 
Plantae,
 
Part
 
I
 
-
 
Bryophytes
 
and
 
Ferns
 

I.
  
Introduction
  

II.
 
Objectives:
 

III.
  
Part
 
I
 
-
 
Bryophytes
 

Examination
 
of
 
living/preserved
 
Polytrichum:
 

Examination
 
of
 
prepared
 
moss
 
slides:
 

IV.
  
Part
 
II
 
-
 
Ferns
 

Examination
 
of
 
fern
 
sporophyte
 
and
 
section
 
of
 
sorus:
 

Observation
 
of
 
a
 
fern
 
gametophyte:
 

Fern
 
gametophyte
 
with
 
attached
 
sporophyte:
 

V.
 
 
Review
 
Questions
 

Other:
 


Content: The
 
gametophyte
 
stage
 
is
 
dominant
 
because
 
it
 
is
 
larger
 
and
 
longer
 
lasting
 
than
 
the
 
sporophyte
 
stage,
 
and
 
the
 
sporophyte
 
is
 
nutritionally
 
dependent
 
on
 
the
 
gametophyte. The
 
gametophytes
 
are
 
either
 
male
 
or
 
female. Male
 
gametophytes
 
develop
 
male
 
sex
 
organs
 
called
 
antheridia,
 
which
 
produce
 
flagellated,
 
swimming
 
sperm. Female
 
gametophytes
 
develop
 
female
 
sex
 
organs
 
called
 
archegonia,
 
which
 
produce
 
eggs. Bryophytes
 
require
 
water
 
for
 
sexual
 
reproduction
 
because
 
the
 
antheridia
 
and
 
archegonia
 
are
 
on
 
separate
 
individual
 
gametophytes,
 
so
 
sperm
 
must
 
swim
 
to
 
the
 
archegonia
 
in
 
drops
 
of
 
water. The
 
fertilized
 
egg
 
is
 
called
 
a
 
zygote
 
(2n),
 
which
 
eventually
 
develops
 
into
 
a
 
mature
 
sporophyte
 
(2n). The
 
mature
 
sporophyte
 
produces
 
haploid
 
spores
 
(via
 
meiosis),
 
each
 
of
 
which
 
can
 
develop
 
into
 
a
 
gametophyte,
 
thus
 
completing
 
the
 
alternation
 
of
 
generations
 
life
 
cycle. As
 
you
 
look
 
at
 
the
 
different
 
groups
 
of
 
plants
 
over
 
the
 
next
 
two
 
labs,
 
pay
 
attention
 
to
 
the
 
difference
 
in
 
life
 
cycles,
 
tissue
 
types,
 
and
 
their
 
structure. These
 
are
 
the
 
characteristics
 
that
 
taxonomists
 
use
 
to
 
classify
 
plants. More
 
importantly,
 
they
 
reflect
 
the
 
traits
 
that
 
plants
 
acquired
 
as
 
they
 
evolved
 
from
 
an
 
ancestral
 
green
 
algae,
 
to
 
bryophytes,
 
to
 
ferns,
 
then
 
ultimately
 
the
 
seed
 
plants
 
(Gymnosperms
 
and
 
Angiosperms).