Which type of spores are produced by the sporophyte of Funaria (a moss) during meiosis?
In Funaria, the sporophyte undergoes meiosis to produce haploid spores.
Ref: NCERT Class 11 Biology Chapter 3: Plant Kingdom Bryophytes - Liverworts and Mosses
#sporophyte
5 public questions tagged with this topic.
Filter questions
The flower is considered a sporophytic structure because it is derived from
Flower is essentially modified determinate shoot bearing sporophylls; sepals, petals, staminal microsporophylls and carpellary megasporophylls all differentiate from diploid vegetative meristem of dominant sporophyte generation in angiosperms. It bears sporangia microsporangia within anthers producing microspores and megasporangium ovule nucellus inside ovary producing megaspore via meiosis. Gametophyte tissue itself develops as pollen grain and seven-celled embryo sac within flower, zygote forms only after fertilization, haploid spores are products not progenitors. Sporophytic origin explains floral vascular anatomy continuous with stem stele and leaf homologies.
Ref: NCERT Class 11, Flower as modified shoot sporophyll; Campbell Biology, Sporophyte dominance
Which group shows indeterminate sporophyte growth?
In most bryophytes sporophyte growth ceases definitively after capsule maturation, classified as determinate growth with limited spore output. Hornworts such as Anthoceros punctatus and Phaeoceros laevis display unique intercalary basal meristem located at junction of foot and capsule, producing spores continuously over many months through basipetal differentiation. This indeterminate growth enabled by persistent meristematic zone and presence of pseudoelaters, correlating with prolonged photosynthetic carbon fixation by sporophyte possessing functional stomata resembling tracheophytes. Liverworts lack such meristem entirely, mosses possess transient apical growth limited.
Ref: Renzaglia et al Anthoceros indeterminate growth; Ligrone et al 2012 Hornworts
The sporophyte of bryophytes is generally
Bryophyte life strategy features characteristic haploid dominance reversing typical vascular pattern. Free-living gametophyte photosynthesizes and produces gametangia at apex; after fertilization, diploid sporophyte develops within archegonial venter attached via bulbous foot absorbing nutrients from maternal tissue through placental transfer cells. Sporophyte remains small, unbranched, mostly determinate except in hornworts, lacking significant photosynthetic independence and requiring maternal provisioning for sporogenesis. This nutritional dependence contrasts sharply with tracheophyte life cycle where sporophyte eventually becomes independent and dominant after embryogenesis, reducing gametophyte. This structural framework illustrates phylogenetic relationships and adaptive significance highlighted in competitive examinations focusing on comparative plant morphology and systematics.
Ref: Shaw Bryophyte Biology Ch Sporophyte dependence; Campbell Ch 29; NCERT Ch 3
In the life cycle of a typical plant, the diploid phase is known as the:
The life cycle of plants is characterized by two distinct, alternating phases. According to NCERT, the haploid phase is known as the gametophytic generation (which produces gametes), while the diploid phase is the 'sporophytic generation' (which produces spores following meiosis). The lengths and dominance of these phases vary greatly across different plant groups (algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms, angiosperms).
Ref: NCERT Class 11 Biology > Chapter 2: Biological Classification > 2.4 Kingdom Plantae