Question

How do mould, mushroom, moss and fern reproduce?

Answer 1

Fungi, of course, don't utilize seeds to reproduce. They are non-vascular and reproduce via spores. But the above-ground portion that we think of as a mushroom is actually the equivalent of a fruiting structure, which are produced from underground strands called mycelium.

Answer 2

Flowers are often the showiest part of most plants, but their main function is facilitating reproduction through seeds. However, there are many plants out there which never produce flowers.

Mosses



Mosses are tiny plants that grow as a green carpet in moist areas. They are called non-vascular plants since they don't have true roots that absorb water or stems that transport it to other parts of the plant. Instead, moisture is absorbed through the entire body.
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Both Sexual and Asexual Phases

Mosses have sexual and asexual phases in their life cycle. During the sexual reproduction phase, the plants produce two structures, one male and one female, usually on different plants. The sperm swims towards the egg to complete fertilization; thus, water is required for the moss to reproduce sexually. The tiny, hooked structures that rise above the moss carpet are the sporophytes with spore-bearing capsules or sporangia. They grow on top of the fertilized female gametophyte plants. The spores released from mature sporangia grow into new male and female plants when they land on moist surfaces.

Asexual reproduction occurs when any part of the stem or even a leaf breaks off of a plant and regenerates to create a new moss plant.

Use and Types

Some gardeners successfully use ornamental mosses in moist, shady areas, while others consider them weeds. Sphagnum moss/peat moss used extensively in gardening is dried moss.
Liverworts and hornworts are two other types of non-flowering, non-vascular plants similar to mosses. They are small, flat, ground-hugging plants growing in damp areas. They have reproductive cycles similar to mosses and send up sporophytes with umbrella-like or rod-like sporangia f
Fearns

Ferns are highly valued in the gardening circles for their feathery fronds. Unlike mosses, ferns are vascular plants and have roots and stems that conduct water. However, the stems of ferns, except in the case of tree ferns, are rhizomes that grow along the ground or underground, so the only part visible is the tuft of leaves. What is most interesting about these leaves is that they do double duty as the reproductive structures of these plants.

Reproduction Process

Ferns ruled the world at one time when the earth was literally a warm, steamy greenhouse. But now they are more commonly found in tropical and subtropical areas. One of the reasons is that, like mosses, they need water as a medium to complete their reproductive process.
Most ferns reproduce through spores found underneath leaves. When mature, the spores explode and release a dark brown, dust-like substance. When this comes in contact with warm and moist soil, the process of reproduction begins. When the humidity, light and temperature is ideal, new fern plants grow.
The conspicuous fern plants are the sporophytes. However, not all leaves of a fern plant bear spores. The ones that carry the sporangia, usually on their underside, are called sporophylls. If the conditions are favorable, some of the mature spores falling on moist soil may germinate into a tiny heart-shaped structure called prothallus. This is the gametophyte phase of ferns. The inconspicuous prothallus produces the male and female gametes, but for fertilization to take place, the male cells need to reach the female cells by swimming through a film of water.
New fern plants develop from the fertilized femal plant (called zygote), but they take a long time to become good sized plants.

Types of Ferns

There are a number of other non-flowering vascular plant groups, such as club moss and spikemoss, generally known as fern allies. They have more in common with ferns than mosses in that they have roots and stems with water-conducting tissue and spore-bearing fronds. Spikemoss, with soft fronds, are garden favorites. Club moss, which has scale-like leaves and grow wild in forest floors, are known by common names such as ground pine, ground cedar, and running pine.