Question

Q- Describe the sporophyte and anthoceros. How it is differs fron sphagnum.

Answer 1

Sporophyte

It is the diploid multicellular stage in a plant's life cycle. It develops from the zygote which is produced when a haploid egg cell is fertilized by a haploid sperm and each sporophyte cell. It has a double set of chromosomes, one set from each parent.

Anthoceros

It is a genus of hornworts and belongs to the family of Anthocerotaceae. It means flower horn. It refers to the characteristic horn-shaped sporophytes which all hornworts produce. There are about 200 species which are terrestrial and cosmopolitan in distribution. They grow in very moist and shady places such as slopes, sides of ditches and decaying wood.

Sphagnum

It is a genus of around 380 species of mosses which are commonly known as peat moss. It belongs to the Sphagnaceae family. They can store large quantities of water in their cells. Some species can hold 16 to 26 times as much water as their dry weight. They grow in wet areas and acidic soil. They do not grow in the woods or in water which contains lime. They grow in small patches.