NonFlowering Vascular Plants Chapter 8 in Judd et

Non-Flowering Vascular Plants Chapter 8 in Judd et al. Focus on family characters and terminology for now, evolutionary relationships later. Look at pictures on the cd that came with book

Lycophytes • 2 Families: – Lycopodiaceae (Clubmosses), Lycopodium – Selaginellaceae (Spikemosses), Selaginella • Similar characteristics: – Both are vascular plants, not true mosses – Overlapping scale-like leaves – Spores produced in sporangia that are • in terminal strobili in Lycopodium (text fig 8. 2) • between the leaves in Selaginella (text fig. 8. 3)

Lycopodium digitatum (=L. flabelliforme) Lycopodium annotinum Lycopodium dendroideum Selaginella arenicola

Small Families Related to Ferns • Psilotaceae – Whisk ferns • Equisetaceae – Horsetails • Ophioglossaceae – Eusporangiate ferns • Look at some pictures but you are not responsible for knowing anything about them at this time.

Psilotum nudum Equisetum hyemale Ophioglossum vulgatum

True Ferns (Leptosporangiate ferns) • Mostly in family Polypodiaceae (7500 spp. ) – Also Osmundaceae, Marsileaceae, Cyatheaceae, but don’t worry about the differences. • Often pinnately compound leaves, but actually a wide variety of leaf shapes. • Spores produced in clusters called sori (singular = sorus). • Sori are very important to identification.

Sori

Fern sori • Often found on under-surface of leaves. • May be covered by flap of tissue called the indusium. • Shape of sorus and indusium v. important. • Sori may be concentrated on separate fertile fronds or fertile leaflets.

Sori with indusia

Sori on separate fronds Osmunda cinnamomea Botrichium virginianum

Gymnosperms • Seed plants without flowers or fruits. • Seeds are usually in a cone-like structure. • Four orders, but only the last one is important in our local flora – Cycadales, the cycads – Ginkgoales, the ginkgo tree, Ginkgo biloba – Gnetales, the gnetophytes – Coniferales, the conifers

Ginkgo biloba a cycad a gnetophyte

Important families of Coniferales • Pinaceae – pine, fir, spruce, hemlock • Cupressaceae – redwood, baldcypress, juniper

Juniperus virginiana Pinus clausa Taxodium distichum

Characters in the Coniferales • • • Cone size, shape, position Needles individual or in bundles (fascicles) How many needles per fascicle Size, shape, twisting of needles Evergreen or deciduous