Practice question

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.