School Science Lessons
Biology
2026-08-06
Non-flowering Plants
Contents
Plant Divisions
(In some plant classifications, Division = Phylum)
9.9.0 Division Marchantiophyta (liverworts)
9.1.0 Division Anthocerotophyta (hornworts)
9.2.0 Division Bryophyta (mosses)
9.3.0 Division Thallophyta (algae)
9.10.0 Division Filicophyta (ferns)
Adiantum
Aspenium
Asplenium
Athyrium
Azolla
9.10.5 Division Polypodiophyta (whisk ferns)
9.10.3 Division Sphenophyta (horsetails)
9.4.0 Gymnosperms
9.5.0 Division Cycadophyta (cycads)
9.6.0 Division Ginkgophyta (Ginkgo)
9.8.0 Division Pinophyta (conifers)
9.7.0 Division Gnetophyta (gnetophytes)
Division Ochrophyta, Phaeophycophyta
Magnoliophyta (Angiosperms, flowering plants)
9.1.0 Division Anthocerotophyta (hornworts)
Hornworts have a simple gametophyte and a long horn-like sporophyte.
9.1.1 Field hornwort, (Anthoceros agrestis), thin dark green thallus like a rosette, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, hollows contain cylindrical spore-producing bodies,
which release the black spores, Europe, Family Anthocerotaceae
See diagram: (Anthoceros agrestis)
(Anthoceros agrestis), Division Anthocerotophyta, Family Anthocerotaceae
9.1.2Dendroceros, (Dendroceros japonicus), ("tree horn"), dark green flat ribbon-like thallus with branches and a midrib, up to 10 cm long, cylindrical sporophytes,
widely distributed in moist environments, Taiwan, Japan, Family Dendrocerotaceae
9.1.3Smooth hornwort, (Phaeoceros leavis), up to 5 mm, dark green thallus, grows in moist areas, Family Notothyladaceae
9.2.0 Division Bryophyta (mosses)
Mosses online, Australian National Herbarium
See diagram: Moss life cycle
Mosses have an upright or creeping gametophyte with leaves arranges spirally.
The sporophyte has a tough seta that persists after spore dispersal.
In open country, moss grows mostly on the north side of trees in the Northern Hemisphere and on the south side of trees in the Southern Hemisphere.
Mosses grow 1-10 cm tall in clumps or mats in shady or damp locations.
Some grow on trees, fences and walls.
Mosses have multicellular rhizoids and distinct stems and leaves.
Mosses have an upright or creeping gametophyte with leaves arranged spirally.
If the sex organs are developed on different plants, as with Dawsonia, the antheridia are attached to a cup-like receptacle at the apex of the male plant.
The antheridia burst to release sperm that use their two cilia to swim in rain water to the archegonia at the apex of the female plants and fertilize the ova.
The zygote grows vertically into the sporophyte that remains attached to the female plant and consists of a long stalk, seta and a capsule containing the sporogonium.
The mature capsule will release very light spores to be dispersed by the wind and grow into the next gametophyte generation.
Common cord-moss, (Funaria hygrometrica), little goldilocks, golden maidenhair moss, bonfire moss, up to 3 cm, obovate leaves forms
a bulb-like cluster at the top of a long stem, male and female organs on the same plant, red-brown sporophyte is a long twisting seta with an asymmetrical grooved
capsule at the tip, so easy to find and identify, grows in wet soil, damp rock crevices, disturbed ground, very common in plant nurseries, is widely distributed,
Division Bryophyta, Family Funariaceae.
See diagram: Funaria, sporogonium
Juniper haircap moss, (Polytrichum juniperinum), juniper polytrichum moss, evergreen perennial, red stems, grey-green leaves with
red-brown tip, dioecious, grow in thin interwoven mats, capsule of sporophyte has long hanging hairs so "haircap moss", system of tiny tubes for carrying water from
the rhizoids to leaves, widely distributed, but not usually in moist or wet environments, Division Bryophyta, Family Polytrichaceae.
Experiments
1. Examine capsules of Funaria or other mosses at different stages of maturity and note the peristome and the method of liberation of spores.
If you fix a cut off capsule in wax, you can examine the peristome under low power.
Breath on the capsule to show the hygroscopic movements of the peristome teeth.
2. Collect protonema of Polytrichum from hedgerows or on the soil in flower pots.
Polytrichum spores germinate to form a filamentous stage called a protonema.
Later, buds form on the protonema to grow into the moss plant.
Polytrichum often mingles with Vaucheria, but Polytrichum is septate.
Observe the green filaments with transverse septa and the brownish rhizoids with oblique septa.
Observe buds on the green filaments and young plants in various stages of development.
3. Look for the male and female plant, female plant with attached sporogonium, leaves, stem, rhizoids, sporogonium capsule, sporogonium seta.
4. Collect common woodland mosses usually found in compact colonies or cushions in damp shady places.
Some grow on the damper side or south side of tree trunks and fence posts.
Observe the erect stems, small leaves, and the rhizoids that attach the plant to the soil.
Look for terminal cups, sexual organs, and tubular capsules that contain asexual spores.
Some tufts of plants bear rosette-like antheridia cups containing spores.
Note the structure of the antheridia and paraphyses, sterile hairs or filaments that bear the spore-making structures, the sporangia.
The archegonia cups that house the ovum are less conspicuous, so you may have to dissect more than one apex to find an archegonium.
5. Use four areas of activity: 1. field observations, 2. spore culture, 3. cultivation of gametophytes, 4. investigation of spore and leafy gametophyte growth to
study the times of spore discharge, growth of the protonema, leafy gametophyte production, sex organ production (archegonia and
antheridia),
fertilization, growth of sporophyte, relative importance of reproduction by spores or gemmae and tubers.
Use information on local temperatures, day length, rainfall, to relate to observations of life cycles.
6. The upper part of the moss capsule (sporangium) may be specialized for gradual spore discharge.
The life cycle of moss begins with asexual reproduction.
Leaf-like moss grow thin, brown stalk with capsules at the top.
The capsules contain tiny spores instead of sex cells.
Spores are the cells that can develop into a new individual without fertilization.
Mosses reproduce by means of spores which are dispersed from the mouth of the capsule by the numerous rays (orange and brown), that snap open.
Grow moss spores and study which factors of the environment controls germination, growth, differentiation of leafy gametophytes.
Mature spore filled capsules are mostly available in the latter half of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.
A problem is how to count the numbers of spores per capsule, per culture, or the number of leafy gametophytes that form.
Leafy gametophytes grow from the protonema.
9.3.0 Division Thallophyta (algae)
The classification of plants into 'Division Thallophyta (algae)' is no longer used in modern scientific botany, but is still used in secondary schools.
See diagram: Filamentous algae
Algae
Classification of algae
1. Green algae, Chlorophyta
Charophyceae family
9.3.1 Chara
9.3.5 Closterium
9.3.6 Codium
9.3.2 Nitella
9.3.14 Spirogyra
Chlorophyceae Family
9.3.3 Caulerpa
9.3.7 Chlorella
Coenocystis, Eudorina, Gloeocystis, Oedogonium, Protosiphon, Pandorina,
9.3.11 Pleodorina
Pleurococcus
9.3.4 Chlamydomonas
Gonium
9.3.13 Haematococcus
9.3.12 Protococcus, (Pleurococcus)
Tetrabaena, Tetracoccuse, Tetracystis, Sea lettuce (Ulva)
9.3.16 Volvox
(Ostreococcus tauri)
(Acetabularia acetabulum)
Class Xanthophyceae (yellow-green algae)
9.3.12 Vaucheria
2. Brown algae, Phaeophyta
Ascophyllum, Ectocarpus, Macrocystis, Nereocystis, Pelvetia
9.3.9 Sargassum
9.3.10 Hormosira
3. Red algae, Rhodophyta
9.3.8 Chondrus
Bangia, Corallina, Gracilaria, Kappaphycus, Porphyra, Rhodymenia
4. Diatoms, Bacillariophyta
Bacillaria, Ceratium, Dinophysis, Gymnodinium, Navicula, Noctiluca
5. Golden algae, Chrysophyta
Dinobryon, Chrysamoeba, Chrysocapsa, Lagynion, and Ochromonas
6. Blue-green algae, Cyanobacteria
8.4.7 Phylum Cyanobacteria, blue-green algae
Anabaena
Nostoc
7. Euglenoids, Eugelenophyta
9.3.5 Euglena
Algae
- are simple, non-flowering, and typically aquatic plants of a large group that includes the seaweeds and many single-celled forms.
- contain chlorophyll, but lack true stems, roots, leaves, and vascular tissue.
- live in water or a moist environment.
- are common in pools, ponds, lakes and streams, along ocean shores and in surface ocean waters.
- range in size from microscopic to many metres long (seaweeds).
- contain chlorophyll - many also contain other pigments.
- food source of marine food chains.
- produce 70% of all oxygen released by photosynthesis.
- used as thickeners in food (alginates) and medicines;
- green, brown and red algae may be eaten by people from Pacific Ocean countries.
- some reproduce sexually, other asexually.
Microalgae
Microalgae, (microphytes), occur in freshwater and marine environments, and are unicellular, but may exist individually or in chains or groups.
Experiments may include the effect of the following on the growth of microalgae:
1. Light intensity, 2. Different coloured light, 3. Carbon dioxide, 4. Nutrients (change nitrate, phosphate), 5. Micro-nutrients, e.g. vitamins.
Culture the microalgae in test tubes and record the daily growth.
Use a haemocytometer for counting the microalgae.
Culture under ideal conditions for 10 days to get a graph similar to bacterial growth (exponential graph).
CSIRO supplies microalgae "starter" cultures and technical advice to industry, research and educational institutions in more than 65 countries since 1986.
In the aquaculture industry, microalgae are the essential first foods for larval and juvenile animals.
Cultures are grown under controlled-environment conditions in a purpose-built, Australian Quarantine Inspection Service AQIS) accredited algal culture facility.
CSIRO supplies cultures in 20 millilitre and 250 millilitre quantities, algal plate cultures for selected aquaculture strains, and strains for educational purposes.
Available microalgae strains include those from marine, estuarine and freshwater species.
Also available are aquaculture strains and toxin-producing species.
Selected strains are axenic (bacteria-free).
These algae can be maintained for a long time in the laboratory by sub culturing in agar plates.
Some micro-algae can be used in aquaculture as food for penaeid shrimp larvae, bivalve mollusc larvae, freshwater prawn larvae, postlarvae,
abalone larvae, marine rotifers (Brachionus), brine shrimp (Artemia salina), saltwater copepods, freshwater zooplankton.
Class Phaeophyceae
Phaeophyceae, the brown algae, are mostly marine, seaweeds, rock weed, kelps, brown to yellow-brown filaments, motile cells with two unequal anterior flagella.
Alginates (alginic acid, algin) are produced from brown algae, kelp.
Alginate, C6H10O7, is a linear copolymer macromolecule, salts and esters of alginic acid are used as hydrogens for dental impressions, and absorbent materials.
A "wrack" is a brown algae that, when exposed by the tide, exudes a sticky brown gel to avoid desiccation.
Experiment:
Examine filaments under low power, then examine a cell in detail under high power and look for oogonia and antheridia.
Examine a prepared slide showing dwarf males.
9.3.1 Chara
Stoneworts are branched multicellular algae, no flower, not extend above water surface, light to dark green in colour, forked bushy branches.
Common stonewort, (Chara vulgaris), (Linnaeus 1753), Chara, (Greek charaties 'graceful, the three graces').
It is called “muskgrass”, because of its musky earthy odour.
It is and called “stonewort”, because of deposition of rough to touch marl, calcium carbonate, on its epidermis.
It is a freshwater giant green algae with structures like stems and leaves, so it looks like a higher plant.
It was used to investigate physiological processes.
It was used to study action potentials in response to mechanical stimulation or electrical stimulation, leading to study of mechanisms of excitability.
It was used to study rapid cytoplasmic streaming and gravitropism, Division Charophyta, Family Characeae.
9.3.2 Nitella
Smooth stonewort, (Nitella flexilis), freshwater algae, axes up to 1m, and 1 mm wide, large cell sie, is cultivated in the laboratory, branched, has no odour and
is soft to the touch, unlike (Chara vulgaris), Division Charophyta, Family Characeae.
Both Nitella and Chara are cultured in Biology classes to observe protoplasmic streaming and other processes in these large cells.
9.3.3 Caulerpa
Common caulerpa, (Caulerpa prolifera), blade algae, the world's largest single-celled organism, fast-growing green algae, long fronds attached to rhizomes,
propagates vegetatively if sections of rhizome break off the parent plant and become established elsewhere, attached to the substrate by fine hair-like rhizoids,
grows rapidly and forms a dense mass of vegetation on shallow sandy areas of the sea, highly invasive species, Division: Chlorophyta, Family: Caulerpaceae.
Caulerpa, (Caulerpa taxifolia), light green, stolons on sea floor, upright fronds up to 60 cm, used in aquariums, invasive, "killer algae" of fish, Division: Chlorophyta, Family: Caulerpaceae.
https://www.dpird.nsw.gov.au/dpi/biosecurity/aquatic-biosecurity/aquatic-pests-and-diseases/marine-pests/seaweed/caulerpa-taxifolia
9.3.4 Chlamydomonas
1. Chlamydomonas, (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii), Division: Chlorophyta, Family: Chlamydomonadaceae
Look for Chlamydomonas as a bright green "water bloom" in freshwater pools, tanks and stagnant water.
It is unicellular, grows quickly, is about 10 microns in diameter, and has motile gametes.
Look for the cilium, contractile vacuole, cytoplasm, eye spot, cup-shaped chloroplast, nucleus, and cell wall.
2. Put cheese and the white of a hard-boiled egg in a glass container.
Add garden soil and washed sand.
Fill the container with rainwater and stand it in diffuse sunlight.
After a week, the water in the glass container may turn green with Chlamydomonas.
3. Put a drop of the culture water on a microscope slide, apply a coverslip, and examine the culture under low power.
Observe the rapid rhythmic rolling movements of Chlamydomonas.
Irrigate with iodine solution and observe the cell wall, basin-shaped chloroplast, eye spot and storage granules.
9.3.5 Closterium
See diagram: Closterium
The desmids, (Greekdesmos chain), family Desmidiaceae, are microscopic, unicellular green algae, usually found united in chains or masses.
Experiment
Closterium and other desmids occur in acidic clean water, e.g. ponds and drainage ditches.
Culture them in the water in which they were living.
Examine the crescent-shaped cells.
Desmids contain barium sulfate crystals and they indicate clean, unpolluted water with acid pH.
Look for the nucleus, pyrenoids, and chloroplasts in two "semi-cells".
(Closterium lunula), Division: Charophyta, Family: Closteriaceae
9.3.6 Codium
(Codium tomentosum), Division: Chlorophyta, Family: Codiaceae
Velvet horn, (Codium tomentosum), spongeweed, widespread in deep rock pools, north east Atlantic Ocean, Family Codiaceae
See diagram: Filamentous algae
See diagram: Chloroplasts of Spirogyra and Ulothrix
9.3.7 Chlorella
Single-celled algae, 2-10 mu m diameter, no flagellum, chlorophyll a and b in chloroplast, high concentration of cheap protein and nutrients,
many alleged health benefits, including gums, teeth oral hygiene, digestion, thinner cell wall than C. pyrenoidosa, so easier to digest.
Chlorella dried herb powder, broken cell wall, is sold as extremely high in chlorophyll and magnesium, detoxifier, complete protein source.
(Chlorella vulgaris) Division: Chlorophyta, Family: Chlorellaceae
9.3.8 Chondrus
Irish moss, (Chondrus crispus), sea moss, herbal medicine, red algae, carrageenan, kelp, used in cough mixtures.
It is a popular tufted, immune-oosting seaweed, rich in vtamin C, B12, sulphur, potassium, calcium, magnesium, protein, pectin, beta-carotene, antioxidants, antivirals, and high in iodine.
It contains 92 of the approximate 102 essential minerals and can be used to treat anaemia, soothes mucous membranes to prevent congestion, expectorant qualities dissolving phlegm and clearing the lungs.
It is used to treat respiratory illnesses, e.g. bronchitis or irritating coughs, common colds and is in a commercial cough medicine, e.g. "Bonnington's Irish Moss".
It is a high fibre with a gentle laxative effect and can be used to thicken any dish, added to smoothies, desserts or creamy mash potato.
It is believed to possess an aphrodisiac property, so it is boiled with milk and cinnamon and sipped in Jamaica, Trinidad and Toba.
Dulse, dillisk, red dulse, creathnach, is a popular fibre food and snack food (Palmeria palmata), Ireland, Iceland, Canada, Palmariaceae
Highly nutritious and beautiful seaweed, and rich in B6, B12, Iron, Calcium, fibre and protein.
It rebuilds and maintains glands with its high iodine content, aiding healthy thyroid function, cleanses the body of heavy metals
It increases metabolism and assists weight loss, heals and enhances liver health along with the digestive system.
It is low in sodium and high in manganese, giving it at 'salty' flavour.
It can be eaten "straight", or used to replace salt in cooking, sprinkled over salads and soups, added to broth recipe, or cooked with fish and butter.
(Chondrus crispus), Division: Rhodophyta, Family: Gigartinaceae
9.3.9 Sargassum
Sea bamboo, (Ecklonia maxima), Division: Ochrophyta, Family Lessoniaceae
(Sargassum lendigerum), (Fucus lendigerus) Division: Ochrophyta, Family Fucaceae
Kelps washed up on the sea shore may be gathered, then washed to remove the sea salts and composted before adding to the garden soil.
See diagram: Ecklonia
(Ecklonia maxima), kelp, sea bamboo, brown algae, Phaeophyceae, Phylum Phaeophyta.
The Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean is famous for huge areas of the floating brown algae, (Sargassum acinarium).
(Fucus vesiculosus), kelp, bladderwrack, herbal medicine, Fucaceae
Experiments
1. Examine a brown seaweed found between low and high tide marks.
Observe the holdfast for anchorage, the stem and the expanded frond containing chlorophyll for photosynthesis and the yellow pigment fucoxanthin, C42H58O6.
Examine a plant of Fucus as an example of a brown seaweed.
Observe the disc shaped or branched holdfast, the stalk or stipe, and the expanded lamina showing thick midrib and wings.
Note also the indentations at the tips of the thallus where the growing points are situated.
2. Observe the holdfast, stipe and fronds.
If the specimen is (Fucus vesiculosus), note also the bladders that give buoyancy.
Cut a transverse section across a vegetative branch and mount and examine under low power.
Note the differentiation into limiting layer, cortex and medulla.
Examine prepared slides of transverse sections cut through male and female conceptacles.
Observe the antheridia, oogonia and paraphyses.
9.3.10 Hormosira
Division Ochrophyta, Family Hormosiraceae, Hormosira
Neptune's necklace (Hormosira banksii), sea grapes, bubble weed, intertidal one, kelp, brown algae, Australia, New Zealand
See diagram: Hormosira
Repeated forking occurs at the receptacles, and inflated internodes form hollow bladders.
Flask-shaped conceptacles are sunken into the bladder wall that produce sperm and ova.
Observe the holdfast and body like a string of hollow beads or grapes, receptacles.
The bumps on the receptacles are the conceptacles, round little holes containing the sexual organs.
At high tides, gas in the receptacles keeps the plant erect.
At low tides, the exposed plant collapses, but the tough leathery body protects it.
9.3.11 Pleodorina
Division Chlorophyta, Family Volvocaceae, (Pleodorina californica)
Pleodorina is a colonial green algae, which produces aquatic algal blooms.
9.3.12 Protococcus, (Pleurococcus)
Division Chlorophyta, Family Chaetophoraceae, Pleurococcus
See diagram: Pleurococcus
Pleurococcus (Protococcus), causes red snow.
Experiment
Scrape a green encrustation from a piece of damp wood or bark of a tree.
Mount in water and examine under low power.
The spherical green structures are single cells of the alga Pleurococcus.
Look for colonies of cells.
Stain with iodine solution.
Observe the cell surrounded by the cell wall.
Note the cytoplasm, the nucleus, and the large irregular-shaped chloroplast.
Look for division into two daughter cells that will become round and separate from each other.
9.3.13 Haematococcus
Division Chlorophyta, Family Haematococcaceae, Haematococcus
(Haematococcus pluvialis) biflagellate unicellular alga, contains red carotenoid pigment astaxanthin, C40H52O4, an antioxidant, anticoagulant,
and used as a food colouring.
It occurs in stagnant pools, ponds and ditches.
It has a brick-red pigment in the vacuoles and may form brown masses on trees and even brown rain and blood-red patches in snow.
If cultured in a jar of water, it is attracted by low intensity light.
The cell wall is separated from the cytoplasm, containing a large hemispherical chloroplast, by a thick mucilaginous inner wall.
The carotenoid red pigment masks the green color of the chlorophyll.
It forms cysts by withdrawing the two flagellae and the rounding.
9.3.14 Spirogyra
Division Charophyta, Family Spirogyraceae, Spirogyra
Spirogyra , filamentous green algae, occur in freshwater habitats, forms dense mats or floating colonies, spiral-shaped chloroplasts, string or hair-like.
It is slimy to touch, emit bubbles just under the water’s surface, large blooms can deplete oxygen levels in the water, controlled with algaecides,
See diagram: Cell of Spirogyra
See diagram: Filamentous algae, Spirogyra
See diagram: Chloroplasts of Spirogyra and Ulothrix
Experiments
1. Observe the nucleus, cytoplasm, cell wall, and spiral chloroplast.
Spirogyra and Zygnema are unbranched filaments with cylindrical cells arranged end to end.
Find these bright green, freely floating algae as clumps on the surface of ponds as "pond scum".
2. Keep them in water from the original site.
Spirogyra chloroplasts are in spiral bands.
Zygnema , a conjugate algae, form green or yellow-brown mats of macroscopic filaments, two stellate chloroplasts per cell.
They can reproduce asexually, sexually, or vegetatively, Zygnemataceae.
These filamentous algae live as blue-green patches in rain puddles, on the moist walls of greenhouses and at the water's edge in dirty ponds and pools.
Observe their threadlike growth.
3. Lift out a piece of green scum with attached mud and transfer it to a glass container with some water in which it was growing.
Keep it in a room in diffuse sunlight.
Examine the algae in a drop of the original water to see the blue-green filaments with cross walls.
9.3.15 Vaucheria
(Vaucheria disperma), Xanthophyceae, yellow-green algae
Division Ochrophyta, Class Xanthophyceae, (Yellow-green algae), Family Vaucheriaceae, Vaucheria
Experiment
Mount some fresh filaments.
Observe the method of branching.
Examine part of a filament under high power.
Examine a prepared slide showing antheridia and oogonia.
9.3.16 Volvox
(Volvox globator)
See diagram: Colonial (coenobial) algae
Eudorina, Gonium, Pandorina, Volvox.
Volvox, (Latinvolvere to roam), is a coenobium of ciliated cells forming minute, hollow spheres with a rolling motion, spinning around in the water.
Volvox looks like a hollow sphere colony of Sphaerella.
Each Volvox is composed of many flagellate cells similar to a Chlamydomonas, interconnected by plasmodesmata and arranged in a hollow sphere (coenobium).
Each cell has beating cilia that cause the Volvox to roll along through the water.
Inside a Volvox colony may be daughter colonies.
It reproduces asexually from large gonidia cells and sexually from male antheridia and female oogonia cells.
Experiment
Culture Volvox in the water in which they were living and observe their spinning or rolling motion.
9.4.0 Gymnosperms
Gymnosperms have seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit, including the conifers, cycads, and ginkgo.
Gymnosperms are vascular seed plants, no fruit or flowers, produce pollen, “naked seeds”, i.e. seeds not protected by a fruit but are in unisexual cones
Cycadophyta, Cycads
Ginkgophyta, (Ginkgo biloba)
Gnetophyta, Ephedra
Pinophyta, Conifers
9.5.0 Cycadophyta, Cycads
Cycads are tropical or subtropical plants, similar to palm trees, dioecious with large, coloured, female or male cones.
Cycads have a multciliate sperm (microspore, pollen grain) released in the liquid in the pollen tube to swim to the archegonium (female sex organ),
within the female prothallus (gametophyte), formed by the megasporangium (ovule).
The living Cycad families are: Cycadaceae, e.g. Cycas, Stangeriaceae, amiaceae, and are native to Asia, Pacific Islands, Australia and Africa.
9.5.1Basket Fern, (Drynaria rigidula), aglomorpha, grows in a large clump, lower short papery brown fronds and upper green fronds, up to 2 m in length, Australia, Polypodiaceae
9.5.2Byfield fern, (Bowenia serrulata), (looks like a fern because of its bipinnate fronds from an underground stem-root, Australia, Stangeriaceae
9.5.3Zamia fern, (Bowenia spectabilis), yam-like edible rhizome, Australian native food, Stangeriaceae
9.5.4'Mount Surprise Blue', (Cycas cairnsiana), glaucous blue, keeled leaves, emerge with a furry coating, and develop a waxy texture with age,
becoming recurved, popular collection from wild, northern Queensland, Australia, Cycadaceae.
9.5.5Sago palm, (Cycas pectinata), stout trunk, crown of large glossy leaves, .slow-growing, erect main stem, up to 12 m, crown of large leaves
It is used as a food and folk medicine, ornamental, Australia, Cycadaceae
9.5.6King sago palm, (Cycas revoluta), Sotetsu, Japanese sago palm, Japanese fern palm, slow growing, up to 7 m, thick coat of fibers on its trunk,
contains many chemical compounds, herbal medicine, young leaves to cover wounds | Cycasin, C8H16N2O7, toxic to cats | Macroamin, C13H24N2O11 |.
Folk medicine, poisonous seeds used for for tonic to expel phlegm, increase menstrual flow, used to treat rheumatism.
It is the most cultivated ornamental palm.
It is used for the production of sago, Japan, China, Cycadaceae
9.5.7Queen sago palm, (Cycas rumphii), upright fronds, orange male cone, Indonesia, PNG, Cycadaceae
Bread tree, (Encephalartos altensteini), prickly cycad, white-haired cycad, South Africa, slow growing, long palm-like fronds, female cone is like a pineapple,
Cycadaceae
9.5.8Hope's cycad, (Lepidoamia hopei), up to 4 m, single stemmed, possibly the tallest cycad in the world, grows in in moist and shady positions
along creek beds, cular leaves up to 2 m in length with glossy green leaflets, Australia, cycad, Phylum Cycadophyta.
9.5.9Scaly zamia, (Lepidoamia peroffskyana), pineapple cycad, prickly cycad, scaly amia, large palm-like with trunk covered with leaf bases,
dark green and glossy leaves, leaflets are attached to the upper side of the stalk or rachis, near the midline, cones on separate male and female plants,
red seeds, Phylum Cycadophyta.
9.5.10Burrawang palm, (Macrozamia communis), sago palm, (not a true palm), fern cycad, prickly cycad, large palm-like
with trunk covered with leaf bases, fronds to 24 m long, is pineapple-shaped male and female on separate plants, large red seeds, Zamiaceae, Phylum Cycadophyta.
9.5.11Zamia palm, (Macroamia riedlei), poisonous if eaten raw, edible if preparer properly, ornamental, Western Australia, amiaceae
9.5.12Cardboard palm, (Zamia furfuracea), coontie, container plant, male and female cones on different plants, Zamiaceae, Phylum Cycadophyta.
9.5.13Florida arrowroot, (Zamia integrifolia), coontie, seminole bread, shrubby cycad forming dense clump with many heads, used to make arrowroot, native
Americans food plant, all parts poisonous if not properly prepared, Southern US, Caribbean Islands, Zamiaceae, Phylum Cycadophyta.
9.5.14Coontie palm, (Zamia pumila), sago coontie, small tough woody cycad, red seed cones, West Indies and Florida, USA, Zamiaceae, Phylum Cycadophyta.
9.6.0Ginkgophyta, (Ginkgo biloba)
Ginkgo is deciduous, dioecious, (male and female trees), reaches 24 m in height, produces a multiciliate sperm.
Ginkgo biloba, ginkgo, maidenhair tree, is only survivor of the order Ginkgoales in Permian period, herbal medicine, edible fruit.
It may be sold commercially as "Ginkgo biloba extract dry concentrate from dry leaf".
Ginkgo are all extinct except for (Ginkgo biloba).
See diagram: Ginkgo tree
Dried herb sold as leaves, Mudbrick Cottage
Ginkgo biloba extract ECb 761, "Tebonin" is sold as a standardied extract of Ginkgo biloba leaves, which has antioxidant properties as a free radical
scavenger ECb 761 has been available in Europe as a herbal extract since the early 1990s, however, products containing ECb 761 are not approved
for use by the US FDA, (2016).
The psychological and physiological effects of ginkgo are said to be based on its primary action of regulating neurotransmitters and exerting
neuroprotective effects in the brain, protecting against or retarding nerve cell degeneration, and improving blood flow in small blood vessels.
There is no clear research evidence that Ginkgo retards memory loss in adults over 60, or treats sudden deafness, tinnitus, or diabetes, but research is continuing.
https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/interns-2011/macrozamia-communis.html
9.7.0 Gnetophyta, Gnetophytes
9.7.1#GnetumspH">Gnetum
9.7.2#WelwitschiaspH">Welwitschia
9.7.3#EphedraspH">Ephedra
9.7.1Gnetum
Gnetaceae, Class Gnetopsida, (Gnetum is the only genus in Gnetaceae)
Gnemon tree, (Gnetum gnemon), paddy oats, meninjau, needs irrigation during dry weather, fruit contains Resveratrol C14H10O3,
fruit and flower buds are deep fried in hot oil and eaten as a snack, growing tips very soft and juicy, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Gnetaceae.
(Gnetum cleistostachyum), a liana, Chinese folk medicine, used to treat cancer, contains | Coumaric acid C9H8O3 | Resveratrol C14H10O3 | Isorhapontigenin |
South East Yunnan, China
9.7.2Welwitschia
Welwitschia, (Welwitschia mirabilis), tree tumbo, desert plant, very large two leaves, woody stem, grows over its entire life, Angola, Namibia
9.7.3Ephedra
See diagram: Ephedra
(Ephedra sinica), (E. equisentina) and (E. intermedia) contain the alkaloids ephedrine, pseudoephidrine, phenylpropanolamine, (norephidrine),
cathine, (norpseudoephidrine).
Chinese ephedra, (Ephedra sinica), ma huang, joint fir, almost no leaves, male and female cones, dangerous dietary supplement, used for illegal
manufacture of methamphetamine, herbal medicine, Mongolia, Russia, northeastern China, Ephedraceae
Boundary Ephedra, (Ephedra aspera), rough joint fir, branched shrub, yellow twigs, tiny leaves, male and female plants, Ephedraceae
Sea grape, (Ephedra distachya), joint fir, central Europe, ephedrine from dried branches, herbal medicine, treat rheumatism, asthma, Ephedraceae
Leafless ephedra, (Ephedra foeminea), synchronizes its activity to the lunar cycle, by nocturnal dipterans and lepidopterans, pollination coincides with July full moon, Ephedraceae
Death valley joint fir, (Ephedra funerea), desert areas, Southwest USA, Ephedraceae
Nevada ephedra, (Ephedra nevadensis), perennial shrub, wind-pollinated, astringent taste, use dried stems for Mormon tea, native American tea,
herbal medicine, broncho-dilator, sexually-transmitted diseases, contains little or no ephedrine or any other alkaloids | tannins | Southwest USA, Ephedraceae
Green Mormon tea, (Ephedra viridis), green erect twigs, red-black vestigial leaves, western USA, Ephedraceae
9.9.0 Division Marchantiophyta (liverworts)
See diagram: Marchantia
Common liverwort, (Marchantia polymorpha), umbrella liverwort, Marchantiaceae
Common pellia, (Pellia epiphylla), overleaf pellia, Pelliaceae
Floating crystalwort, (Riccia fluitans), aquarium plant, liverwort, forms dense floating mats Ricciaceae, Phylum Hepatophyta.
Liverworts are the most lowly land plants with single-celled rhioids and no clearly-differentiated stem and leaves.
They grow in moist shady habitats on wet rocks or near shallow streams, usually clumped together to save moisture.
The plant is the gametophyte generation, a broad branching thallus.
Together the plants look like little leaves clumped together and attached to the damp soil by hair-like rhioids.
The antheridia produce swimming sperm that fertilie an ovum in the archegonium to form the ygote that grows into the sporophyte.
The sporophyte has no chlorophyll and remains a sort of parasite with no connection to the soil, but attached to the archegonium.
It releases spores that develop into the next gametophyte generation.
Marchantia reproduces rapidly by vegetative buds produced in gemma cups.
The sexual organs, the antheridia and archegonia are formed on different plants.
Liverworts have alternation of generations, because they have a flat leafy (n, haploid) gametophyte and have a delicate stalk (seta) (2n, diploid),
sporophyte that dies after spore dispersal.
Experiments
1. Collect plants from moist sheltered places, e.g. behind waterfalls, in cooler periods of the year.
2. Collect plants of Pellia in the early spring.
Observe the leafy gametophyte with rhizoids at its base and the capsule or sporogonium.
Note the presence of dark green globular capsules just behind the growing points of some thallus branches.
Also, note small warty prominences further back from the tip and either side of the midrib.
These prominences are old antheridia cavities, now empty.
Dissect out a sporogonium, noting the short seta.
Crush the capsule into a drop of water.
Observe the wall with its characteristic thickenings, the spores and the elaters.
Cut a transverse section of the thallus, mount in water and note the structure, similar to the lamina of Fucus, but attached to the soil, with hair-like rhizoids.
3. Collect Pellia plants in the early summer.
Observe the presence of antheridia and cut sections through the thallus where they occur.
Note also involucres just behind the tips of some branches and cut longitudinal sections through these to see the archegonia.
Look for the thallus, gemma cups, rhizoids, sperm with two flagella, male thallus, antheridium, female thallus, and archegonium.
Liverworts are the most lowly land plants with single-celled rhizoids and no clearly-differentiated stem and leaves.
They grow in moist shady habitats on wet rocks or near shallow streams, usually clumped together to save moisture.
The plant is the gametophyte generation, a broad branching thallus.
Together the plants look like little leaves clumped together and attached to the damp soil by hair-like rhizoids.
The antheridia produce swimming sperm that fertilize an ovum in the archegonium to form the zygote that grows into the sporophyte.
The sporophyte has no chlorophyll and remains a sort of parasite with no connection to the soil, but attached to the archegonium.
It releases spores that develop into the next gametophyte generation.
Marchantia reproduces rapidly by vegetative buds produced in gemma cups.
The sexual organs, the antheridia and archegonia are formed on different plants.
Collect plants from moist sheltered places, e.g. behind waterfalls, in cooler periods of the year.
9.8.0 Division Pinophyta, (conifers)
9.8.1 Pinophyta genera
9.8.2 Pinophyta experiments
The Coniferophyta, or Pinophyta, or Coniferae, commonly known as conifers, are vascular land plants containing a single class, Pinopsida.
Conifers are cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms, perennial woody plants with secondary growth.
Conifers include the pine, fir, spruce, other cone-bearing trees and shrubs, and yews
Coniferophyta, Pinophyta, conifers are seed-bearing plants with ovules on the edge of an open sporophyll.
The sporophylls are arranged in cone-like structures.
Conifers are pyramidal or conical trees with long straight stems that taper to an apical growing point, the leader.
The almost horizontal branches bear narrow needle-shaped leaves.
The original tap root dies leaving shallow roots that let the tree be blown over by storms.
Smaller roots have no root hairs, but have a sheath of fungus that penetrates into the root epidermis.
Small microspore cones at the ends of branches produce microspores, pollen grains.
Large megaspore cones are made up of leaf-like sporophylls that contain the ova.
The fertilized ova develop to form seeds released when the woody cone opens.
Most conifers produce woody cones by lignification of the seed-bearing sporophylls, but Juniperus, Podocarpus and Taxus have soft fruit.
See diagram: Pine tree cone
See diagram: Swelling movements
9.8.1 Pinophyta genera
Abies, conifer, Pinaceae
Araucaria bidwillii Bunya pine
Araucaria, conifer, Araucariaceae
Athrotaxis, conifer, Cupressaceae
Cedrus, conifer, Pinaceae
Chamaecyparis, conifer, Cupressaceae
Cupressus, conifer, Cupressaceae
Juniperus
Larix
Pseudotsuga conifers, Douglas firs, Pinaceae
Picea
Pinus
Podocarpus, conifers, plum pines, Podocarpaceae
Sequoia, redwood conifers, Cupressaceae
Thuja, conifer arborvitae, Cupressaceae
Tsuga, conifer, hemlock, Pinaceae
Taxus, conifer, yew, Taxaceae
Wollemia nobilis, conifer, Wollemi "pine", Araucariaceae
Pinophyta genera
Abies, conifer, Pinaceae
European silver fir, (Abies alba), silver fir, white fir, silver spruce, white spruce, slender tree, sparse foliage up to 50 m. needle-like leaves about 3 cm long with
notched tips, large cones, dark glossy appearance. popular Christmas tree, because fresh mild aroma, and long-lasting needles, Europe, Pinaceae.
Only genus "Abies" plants may be called "fir trees", so Abies are the "true firs".
Balsam fir, (Abies balsamea), Canaan fir, balsam tree, American silver fir, balm of gilead fir, evergreen conifer, up to 20 m, dense flat dark green needles,
thick sticky aromatic resin, popular Christmas tree, because of pyramid spherical shape and fragrant aroma and needles stay on tree after being cut,
dark purple to brown long cones grow erect on the stems, grey bark, used for mounting medium Canada Balsam, native North American folk medicine,
vitamin C content said to prevent scurvy, North America, Pinaceae.
Kauri tree, (Agathis australis), is over 45 m third-largest conifer, New Zealand.
Gymnosperm, Division Pinophyta, Family Araucariaceae, Genus Agathis, Agathis australis
Borneo kauri, (Agathis borneensis), Malayan kauri, damar minyak, Araucariaceae
Amboyna pine, (Agathis dammara), damar pine, black kauri, evergreen, up to 28 m, ornamental and lumber, Australia, Java, Araucariaceae
Queensland kauri pine, (Agathis robusta), smooth-barked kauri, in Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, Queensland, Araucariaceae
Agathis robusta, Queensland kauri pin,e Daleys Fruit Trees
Brazilian pine, (Araucaria angustifolia), candelabra tree, evergreen, to 40 m, thick scale-like leaves, endangered species, Brazil,
Araucariaceae
Araucaria is from the province of Arauco, Chile.
Araucaria may be called "pine", but they are not genus Pinus.
Monkey puzzle tree, (Araucaria araucana), Chilean pine, prickly leaf, up to 24 m, 1.2 m trunk diameter, tangle of branches "would pule a monkey",
longevity up to 100 years, national tree of Chile, endangered species, garden favourite in 19th century, Chile, Araucariaceae
Araucaria bidwillii Bunya pine
Piggyback araucaria, (Araucaria biramulata), biramule araucaria, (because develop second growth tip halfway up the trunk), in Blue Mountains Botanic Garden,
vulnerable species, New Caledonia, Araucariaceae
Cook pine, (Araucaria columnaris), New Caledonia pine, in Brisbane City Botanic Gardens, New Caledonia, Araucariaceae
Cook pine, Daleys Fruit Trees
Hoop pine, (Araucaria cunninghamii), Queensland pine, Moreton Bay pine, colonial pine, parana pine, up to 50 m, up to 2 m diameter, softwood,
transversely cracked coarse bark, hoops apparent when bark stripped from trunk, dimorphous leaves, preservative-treated poles for pole-frame construction,
power poles, impregnated with preservatives for fencing, particle board, plywood, native Australian species, in Brisbane City Botanic Gardens,
plantations, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Araucariaceae
Hoop pine, Daleys Fruit Trees.
Norfolk Island pine, (Araucaria heterophylla), (not a pine, Pinus), symmetrical pyramidal shape, in native habitat up to 65 m, slow growing,
straight vertical trunk up to 3 m diameter, regular tiers of short, horiontal, spreading branches, male cones oblong to 5 cm, female cones
erect to 12 cm long, seeds winged up to 3 cm long, if grown indoors rarely exceeds 2 m, dimorphous leaves, grown in attractive groves or
in containers, the only plant of this genus grown as houseplant, used as ecological Christmas trees as they are not dumped after holidays,
used for public beachside plantings, popular house plant, Araucariaceae
Norfolk Island pine, Daleys Fruit Trees.
Klinki pine, (Araucaria hunsteinii), Papua New Guinea mountains, to 80 m, habitat loss threat, Araucariaceae
Pencil pine, (Athrotaxis cupressoides), slow growing, (but not a pine, Pinus), Tasmania, Cupressaceae
Atlantic cedar, (Cedrus atlantica), Atlas cedar, African cedar, Moroccan cedar wood oil, libanol oil, conifer, Pinaceae
Cedar of Lebanon, (Cedrus libani), majestic tree, conifer, mountains of Lebanon, (in Bible 1 Kings 5:6-10), Pinaceae
Chamaecyparis, conifer, Cupressaceae
Mourning cypress, (Chamaecyparis funebris), Chinese weeping cypress, Chinese cedar wood oil, Cupressaceae
Lawson cypress, (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), Port Orford cedar, Oregon cedar, lawson false cypress, up to 6 m tall, 2 m wide, garden plant, Cupressaceae
Italian cypress, (Cupressus sempervirens), Mediterranean cypress, true cypress, cemetery tree, Ariona cypress, funeral tree, because once cut it never grows again, wood formerly used to make coffins, funereal cypress, long-living, garden plant, height to 12 m, used for hedges, popular landscaping plant | Camphene, C10H16 | Cymene,
C10H14, CH3C6H4CH(CH3)2 | Pinene, C10H16 | Sabinol, C10H16O | Sylvestrene, C10H16 | Cupressaceae
Leyland cypress, (Cupressocyparis leylandii), Alaskan cedar example of inter-generic crossbreeding sterile hybrids propagated by rooted cuttings many
cultivars e.g. Leighton Green, the "spite tree or hate tree" used to block neighbour's views, also used as Christmas trees, Cupressaceae
Patagonian cypress, (Fitroya cupressoides), named after Captain Robert Fitroy, captain of HMS Beagle, with passenger Charles Darwin, strong reddish timber, Tasmania, Cupressaceae
Juniperus
Chinese juniper tree, (Juniperus chinensis), (a cypress with berries), up to 25 m, dimorphous needle-like leaves, and scale-like leaves, herbal medicine, China,
east Asia, Cupressaceae
Juniperus chinensis, Chinese Juniper Tree, Daleys Fruit Trees
Juniper, female plant, (Juniperus communis), common juniper, more than 4 metres, plant male and female trees if berries are required, scales of reproductive
cone coalesce to form a fleshy "berry" around the seeds, immature berries have pinene smell and are used to used to flavour meat and cabbage,
(Dutchgenever, juniper), gives name to a gin for its flavour, berries contain | myrcene | sabinene | herbal medicine, stimulates elimination of
uric acid and other toxins, relief from pain and stiffness, Cupressaceae
Common juniper, (Juniperus communis, var. communis, var. erecta), up to 5 m, religious purification, urinary antiseptic herbal medicine, shrub or small tree,
widespread in North America, popular garden plant. Cupressaceae
Juniper - Self Pollinating, Mudbrick Herb Cottage.
Juniper-female, Mudbrick Herb Cottage.
Dried herb sold as berries.
Plant sold as: Juniper - (bi-sexual plant), Juniper - (sexed male plant), Juniper - (sexed female plant)
Savin juniper, (Juniperus sabina), coffin juniper, Hollywood juniper, slow growing, long-lived, crushed needle-like leaves, emit strong smell, savin oil,
used to flavour gin, Cupressaceae
Eastern red cedar, (Juniperus virginiana), red cedar, southern red cedar, Bedford cedar wood, Virginian cedar wood, cedar wood oil, it is a juniper
and not true cedar, very popular tree, dense cone-shaped tree for landscapes, blue berries on female trees, slightly toxic, North America, Cupressaceae
Juniperus virginiana 'Grey Owl', Daleys Fruit Trees
European larch, (Larix decidua), Chinese larch, strong timber, bark used for tanning and dyes, Pinaceae
Gmelin larch, (Larix gmelinii) widespread in Eurasia and North America, tall trees, straight columnar trunks, the only deciduous Pinaceae,
wood rich in resins, E636, Maltol | Pinaceae
Olga Bay larch, (Larix olgensis), Olgan larch, deciduous mountain forest tree, vulnerable species, Japan, conifer, Pinaceae
New Zealand incense tree, (Libocedrus plumosa), kawaka, evergreen conifer, up to 35 m, planted in large parks and gardens. New Zealand, Cupressaceae
Pancher neocallitropsis, (Neocallitropsis pancheri), evergreen coniferous tree, up to 10 m, plant is harvested from the wild for its essential Araucaria oil,
New Zealand
Norway spruce, (Picea abies), spruce, common spruce, spruce pine, useful wood, most common Christmas tree in Europe,
pine scent, spruce fir, herbal medicine, (not a "true fir", genus Abies), trees knocked over by strong winds, Pinaceae
A spruce tree is genus Picea.
Brewer spruce, (Picea breweriana), weeping spruce, conifer, evergreen conifer, up to 40 m, buttressed trunk, drooping branches, grey-brown bark,
flattened leaves (needles), red-purple seed cones, (Alkaloids: Hygrine, Hygroline, N-methylsedridine and N-methylpelletierine), popular ornamental
with soft weeping habit, North America, Pinaceae
Anzac pine, (Pinus brutia), grown in Brisbane City Botanic Gardens from seed collected at Lone Pine region, Gallipolli, Turkey, Pinaceae
Pines include conifers: cedars, spruces, firs and pines.
Caribbean pine, (Pinus caribaea), yellow pine, caribaea pine, to 30 m, softwood, timber tree, extensively planted in Australia, Central America, Cuba, Bahamas, Pinaceae
Slash pine, (Pinus elliotti vars), Florida pine, yellow pine, Cuban pine, up to 35 m, 0.7 m diameter stem, large spreading branches, bark sheds in small scales,
general purpose softwood, decorative, particle board, plantations in Australia, United States, Pinaceae
White spruce, (Picea glauca), Canadian spruce, slow-growing conifer, dense compact shape and cone, short grey-green needles, used as pot plant, cold climate plant, Pinaceae
Bristle cone pine, (Pinus longaeva), Pinaceae, (said to live for up to 5000 years), Pinaceae
Black spruce, (Picea mariana), Canadian black pine, slow-growing conifer, blue-silver foliage, dense pyramid shape, short prickly needles, Pinaceae
Longleaf pine, (Pinus palustris), longleaf yellow pine, southern yellow pine, pitch pine, terebrinthina, long flexible needles, syrup of tar, pine tar oleoresin, North America, Pinaceae
Pine nut tree, (Pinus pinea), stone pine, Italian stone pine, parasol nuts, pignolias, Roman pine, umbrella pine, Southern Europe, flattened crown straight reddish trunk,
seeds eaten called "pine nuts", truffle host, Pinaceae
Pine nut tree, Daleys Fruit Trees
About 20 species of Pinus spp. produce relatively large and edible "pine nuts".
Monterey pine, (Pinus radiata), radiata pine, up to 50 m, stem to 1 m diameter, large spreading branches, visible pine cones, thick rough bark, pungent pine scent, New Zealand turpentine oil, major plantation species throughout the world, Christmas tree farms, general purpose softwood, North America, Pinaceae
Scots pine, (Pinus sylvestris), thick blue-green pine needles, turpentine oil, main source of essential oil called pine oil, lubricant, alternative medicine,
mainly | alpha-Terpineol | Scotland, Pinaceae
Plum pine, (Podocarpus elatus), Illawarra plum, mahogany pine, she pine, "brown pine" (Qld, NSW).
It is a common rainforest pine, but lacking an obvious cone, up 36 m, leaves up to 25 cm long, dark blue-purple berry-like seed cones with edible fleshy base.
The round, greenish seed is seated at the apex of a larger fleshy stalk that resembles a purple-black grape with a waxy bloom.
This stalk is edible, but is rather mucilaginous and resinous in flavour, which is used to make jam or jelly more acceptable than the raw stalks.
It is used in condiments, timber used in furniture, ornamental tree, street lining, east coast of Australia, Australian native food, Podocarpaceae
Podocarpus elatus, Tucker Bush
Dwarf plum pine, (Podocarpus spinulosus), shrubby plum pine, spiny-leaf podocarp, understory shrub, up to 2 m, needle-like leaves, berry-like cones,
edible purple-black arils, coastal eastern Australia, Podocarpaceae
Nagi, (Nageia nagi), evergreen, up to 20 m, smooth peeling bark, leathery leaves, straight, cylindrical bole, valuable timber tree, amenity tree in China and Japan,
is planted in gardens, parks, sanctuaries, street trees, bonsai cultivation, Asia, Podocarpaceae.
Douglas fir, (Pseudotsuga meniesii), Oregon balsam, Oregon pine, North America, Mexico, China, largest conifer, timber tree, up to 60 m, up to 2 m diameter, clear of branches for about two-thirds of its height, and therefore produces a high percentage of clear wood, very fibrous bark, lives for 400 years valuable timber, Pinaceae
California redwood, (Sequoia sempervirens), coast redwood, sequoia, giant sequoia, redwood pine, giant redwood, world's
tallest tree, 110 m, may live for thousands of years, California, Cupressaceae
Giant redwood, (Sequoia gigantea), only species, giant sequoia, big tree, sierra redwood, wellingtonia, reaches 90 m height, 12 m trunk diameter,
long-lived, large timber volume, Cupressaceae
Dawn redwood, (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), large deciduous conifer, conical shape, spongy red bark turns grey with age, light green then rose brown
then gold foliage in autumn, strong timber, China, Cupressaceae
A redwood is a very large tree with spongy red bark.
Arborvitae, (Thuja occidentalis), eastern arborvitae, American arborvitae, emerald cedar, northern white cedar, tall cone shape,
bright bright green foliage soft to touch, used for hedge in small gardens, herbal medicine, essential oil, cedar leaf oil for hands and arms, North America,
Romania, Cupressaceae
Thuja occindentalis, White cedar, Mudbrick Herb Cottage.
Dried herb sold as aerials.
Western red cedar, (Thuja plicata), British Columbia cedar, western cedar, red cedar, giant cedar, giant arborvitae, western arborvitae, Washington cedar,
shinglewood, up to 55 m, stem up tp 5 m diameter, thin fibrous fissured bark, used for sawn timber and decorative objects, Canada, USA, Cupressaceae
Chinese thuja, (Thuja orientalis, now Platycladus orientalis), Chinese arborvitae, oriental thuja, biota, small slow-growing tree 8-20 m, scale-like toxic leaves,
allergenic, herbal medicine, ornamental, East Asia, Cupressaceae
Hiba, (Thujopsis dolobrata), dense, slow-growing, pyramidal, evergreen conifer, up to 50 m, Japan, Cupressaceae
Eastern hemlock, (Tsuga canadensis), Canadian hemlock, garden tree, dwarf to 21 m, not poisonous, tannins, spruce oil, Pinaceae
It occurs in the US and Canada.
Tsuga are called "hemlocks", but no connection with Great hemlock, (Conium maculatum), Apiaceae, four species in North America and four species in eastern Asia.
Yew tree, (Taxus baccata), common yew, English yew, churchyard tree, Japanese yew, slow growing, evergreen and long-lived,
so grown in English churchyards to symbolize immortality, needle-like leaves, used for hedges, long-bows, poisonous leaves, | Paclitaxel chemotherapy
medication used to treat cancers (PTX) |
(Experiment: cut stem and use ink to show transpiration stream). England, Taxaceae
Pacific yew, (Taxus brevifolia), western yew, American yew, evergreen timber tree, Paclitaxel, (PTX). anticancer drug, North America, Taxaceae
Wollemi "pine", (Wollemia nobilis), discovered 1994, formerly known only as a fossil, height to 36 m, now being extensively
propagated, (not a true pine, genus Pinus, and not in the pine family, Pinaceae), Araucariaceae
Wollemi pine, Daleys Fruit Trees
9.8.2 Pinophyta experiments
1. Look for a microspore cone, pollen grain, pollen tube, microsporophyll, microspores (pollen) megasporophyll, micropyle, ovule, megaspore, and bract.
2. Examine twigs of Pinus in summer.
The twigs should show evidence of at least three years' growth.
Observe the structure of purely vegetative twigs, the position and structure of seed cones of varying age, the position and structure of staminate cones.
3. Examine the male and female cones of Pinus.
Dig up some shallow roots and examine the mycorrhiza under the microscope.
Dissect first year, second year and third year seed cones and note their general structure.
Note the seeds lying naked on the cone scales.
4. Remove a megasporophyll from a first year cone and look for the two megasporangia (ovules) on the upper surface.
The bract scale is on the lower surface.
5. Examine the structure in longitudinal section under high power.
6. Examine a sporophyll from a second year cone in the same way.
7. Examine a third year cone.
Remove a megasporophyll and note the seeds with their wings attached.
Cut a longitudinal section through a seed and examine under low power.
8. Dissect a staminate cone and note the form of the microsporophylls (stamens).
Crush one of them into a drop of glycerine and examine the pollen grains under high power.
Examine transverse and longitudinal sections of staminate cones.
9. Examine the structure of the current year stem and the older stems by means of transverse and longitudinal sections.
Examine the tracheids, the sieve tubes, the medullary rays and the resin canals.
10. Cut a transverse section of a leaf.
9.10.1 Pteridophyta
Pteridophyta are vascular plants that reproduce via spores.
Pteridophyta (Greekpteron 'feather', phyton 'plant'), because these plants have frond leaves.
Cryptogams, another name for Pteridophyta, (Greekkruptos 'hidden', gamos 'wedded'), because they produce neither flowers nor seeds.
Pteridophyta include the ferns, horsetails, clubmoss and whisk ferns.
9.10.0 Division Filicophyta (ferns)
9.10.2 Ferns experiments
6.22 Ferns and mosses, Primary
See diagram: Fern life cycle
Ferns are vascular plants with xylem and phloem, true leaves, but no seeds.
The stag's horn is a common epiphyte in rainforests.
The asexual phase, the sporophyte, is the large fern that develops spores in sporangia.
The sexual phase, the gametophyte, develops the sexual organs.
It is an insignificant little plant like a little flat leaf, the size of a fingernail.
Fern species:
Mangrove fern, (Acrostichum speciosum), clumping, compact, dark green foliage, widespread, occurs in tropical swamps, used as
tropical groundcover, Australia, Pteridaceae
Southern maidenhair fern, (Adiantum capillus-veneris), Venus's hair fern, American maidenhair, feathery fronds, dark stems,
herbal medicine, popular garden fern in American tropic region has siphonostele, tubular stele with xylem and phloem as a hollow tube around the pith frond repels
water, (tannin, traditional medicine), houseplant garden fern, Pteridaceae
Rough maidenhair fern, (Adiantum hispidulum), new fronds pink-brone, houseplant, Australia, Pacific islands, Africa, Pteridaceae
Rough maidenhair fern, (Adiantum hispidulum), Daleys Fruit Trees
Bird's nest fern, (Aspenium australasicum), houseplant, ornamental, Taiwan vegetable, Australia, Aspleniaceae
Birds nest fern, (Aspenium australasicum), Daleys Fruit Trees
Mother spleenwort, (Asplenium bulbiferum), hen & chicken fern, fronds up to 60 cm, small plantlets on upper leaf surfaces can be repotted, houseplant, Aspleniaceae
Necklace fern, (Asplenium flabellifolium), "walking fern", buds develop at ends of pinnate fronds, fern, Aspleniaceae
Crow's nest fern, (Asplenium nidus), common on wayside trees, glossy, thick, leathery fronds form vase-like rosette rotating from a short, central stem,
forming a "nest", which collects fallen leaves from surrounding trees, brown spore cases on undersides, narrow sori form lateral veins of sporophyll,
houseplant, folk medicine, Chinese vegetable, folk medicine, ease labour pains, to treat fever, Aspleniaceae
Hart's-tongue fern, (Asplenium scolopendrium), common ornamental, folk medicine, Europe, Aspleniaceae
Maidenhair spleenwort, (Asplenium trichomanes), Australia, Aspleniaceae
Common lady-fern, (Athyrium filix-femina), lady fern, Northern Hemisphere, Athyriaceae
Japanese painted fern, (Athyrium nipponicum), pictum, ornamental, Japan, Athyriaceae
Hare's foot fern, (Davallia sollida var. pyxidata), hare's foot, because furry exposed rhizomes, grows in rock cracks, Australia, Davalliaceae
Basket fern, (Drynaria rigidula), grows in a large clump, lower short papery brown fronds and upper green fronds, up to 2 m in length, Australia, Polypodiaceae
Lady fern, (Diplazium dilatatum), large hardy tree fern, up to 60 cm, indusium on both sides of the veins, Asia, Australia, Athyriaceae
Prickly rasp fern, (Doodia aspera), rough ruby, native Australian species, groundcover, tender, clump-forming, evergreen, pinnate, erect to arching, dark green fronds, reddish-pink to maroon when young, fronds are divided into broadly linear, toothed, rough segments, Blechnaceae, Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands.
Large mosquito fern, (Azolla filiculoides), duckweed fern, fairy moss, water fern, up to 7 cm, bright green then red-purple upper leaves
stay afloat, submerged lower leaves on short stem have feathery roots, widely introduced to decorate ornamental ponds.
It grows in waterways in dense patches, which can make it look like a green or red carpet.
In the shade, it is a bright green colour but it changes to deep red when exposed to the sun.
It is beneficial to the aquatic environment as a food source and it provides habitat for many small organisms.
It can discourage blue-green algal blooms as its 'mats' restrict the penetration of sunlight into the water and takes up nutrients from the water column.
So removal of azolla from waterways can cause bloom of toxic blue-green algae.
It can be a form of biological mosquito control, because the mats prevent mosquito larvae surfacing for air.
It can can restrict the growth of exotic aquatic plants, including salvinia and water hyacinth, and become a significant weed competing against indigenous
waterway vegetation and causing pollution of drinking water.
However, where waterways are extremely rich in nutrients, extensive growth of Azolla can cause de-oxygenation of the water, leading to decay of aquatic
animals and plants that can cause a strong odour.
Feathered mosquito fern, (Azolla pinnata), velvet fern, ferny azolla, feathereymosquitofern, up to 2.5 cm, triangular in outline, use to clean up pollutants.
Azolla , an aquatic, free-floating Australian native fern
Azolla, Aquatic Technologiea
See photo Azolla: Azolla pinnata
Phototrophic cyanobacterium, (Anabaena azollae), can fix atmospheric nitrogen, lives symbiotically in leaf cavities of Azolla .
Azolla is cultivated then rots as nitrogen fertilier as it decomposes for the rice industry in Vietnam, China and the Philippines.
See photo: (Anabaena azollae)
Brail tree fern, (Blechnum brasiliense), Brazilian dwarf tree fern, rib fern, crown fern, rosette of red-brown fronds, Blechnaceae
Gristle fern, (Blechnum cartilagineum), soft water, distinct vegetative sporophylls and spore-bearing sporophylls, Australia, Blechnaceae
Silver lady fern, (Blechnum gibbum), dwarf tree fern, houseplant, a "hard fern", rosette of large fronds, to 1 m, older plants with distinct trunk,
Pacific Islands, Blechnaceae
Hammock fern, (Blechnum occidentale), used to treat medicinal disorders, a food. Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, Blechnaceae
Water fern, (Ceratopteris thalictroides), Indian fern, water sprite, water hornfern, roots in mud, spongy air-filled fronds, salad vegetable, herbal medicine,
aquarium plant floating and rooted, Pteridaceae
"C-Fern", (Ceratopteris richardii), (small patented "C-fern"), aquarium plant, used for scientific experiments and teaching biology. Pteridaceae
Christella, (Christella subpubescens), terrestrial fern, grows in tufts with fronds up to 80 cm long, creeping rhizome has dark brown scales and hairs,
frond stalk has small hairs, terminal leaflet can be up to 18 cm long, grown in a container or in a tropical garden, can be invasive, Australia, Thelypteridaceae.
Golden chicken fern, (Cibotium baromet), manfern woolly fern, "vegetable lamb of Tartary, Tartarian lamb, Scythium lamb", (woolly rootstock like an animal),
up to 1 m, folk medicine, rhizome used to treat liver and kidney ailments, Asia, Cibotiaceae
Rough Tree-fern, (Cyathea australis), trunk with hair-like follicles and conical blunt spines towards the base grows up to 12 m, pinnate fronds up to 4 m in length to form
a green crown, adventitiious roots, Australia, Cyathaceae
Rough tree fern, (Cyathea australis), Australian National Herbarium
Australian Aboriginal people use to split open the top of the trunk to extract the soft starchy pith, which was eaten raw and roasted.
Lacy tree fern, (Cyathea cooperi), Australian tree fern, ornamental, invasive in Hawaii, Australia, Cyathaceae
Tree fern, (Cyathea cooperi), Daleys Fruit Trees
Dicksonia antarctica (Smooth Tree-fern)
The top of the trunk was split open to extract the soft starchy pith.
The Tasmanians preferred the Rough Tree-fern, Cyathea australis, because it tasted better than the Smooth Tree-fern.
The Smooth Tree-fern is the one which is usually grown in home gardens.
Common tree fern, (Cyathea latebrosa), thick erect stem, up to 4 m needs frost-free cultivation, Southeast Asia, Cyatheaceae
Japanese holly fern, (Cyrtomium falcatum), holly fern, rocky cliffs, houseplant, garden ornamental, widespread, Dryopteridaceae
Mountain bladderfern, (Cystopteris montana) arctic bladder fern, creeping cordlike, scaly stem, leaves up to 45 cm long. North America, Dryopteridaceae
Deer’s foot fern, (Davallia bullata), squirrel's foot fern, houseplant, attractive dark green leaves, hairy dark brown rhizomes like the hooves of a deer, Davalliaceae
Hare's foot fern, (Davallia denticulata), houseplant, thick rhizome, densely covered with red-brown scales with many small marginal teeth, Australia, Davalliaceae
Hare's foot fern, (Davallia sollida var. pyxidata), hare's foot, because furry exposed rhizomes, grows in rock cracks, Australia, Davalliaceae
Rabbit's foot fern, (Davallia fejeensis fern), houseplant, brown hairy rhizome, Fiji, Davalliaceae
Lacy Ground Fern, (Dennstaedita davallioides), long creeping rhizomes, dense groundcover, Australia, Dennstaedtiaceae
Japanese lady fern, (Deparia petersenii), creeping growth, long rhizomes, thick groundcover, invasive, Australia, East Asia, Athyriaceae
Australian tree-fern, (Dicksonia antarctica), erect rhizome forming a trunk, large spreading fronds, hairy at the base, in wet sclerophyll forests and in cloud forests,
up to 15m, large dark green fronds spreading canopy, used as a garden host for epiphyte ferns, orchids and bryophytes, the pith of the plant my be eaten either
cooked or raw, Australia, Dicksoniaceae
Golden tree fern, Dicksonia fibrosa fern, soft tree ferns, wheki, (woolly tree fern), thick erect stems, dictyostele, siphonostele as network, Dicksoniaceae
Lady fern, (Diplaium dilatatum), up to 60 cm, erect rhizome, forming a short trunk covered with elongated dark brown scales, many spore-forming receptacles
under the fronds, Asia, Australia, Athyriaceae
Prickly rasp fern, (Doodia aspera), rough ruby, groundcover, tender, clump-forming, evergreen, pinnate, erect to arching, dark green fronds, reddish-pink to
maroon when young, fronds are divided into broadly linear, toothed, rough segments, pink-red fronds have toothed margins, ornamental, Australia, New Zealand,
Pacific Islands Blechnaceae.
Male fern, (Dryopteris filix-mas fern), basket fern, shield fern, large deciduous fern, stout rhizomes, popular garden ornamental, Europe, North America,
Dryopteridaceae
See diagram: Dryopterisbr>
Lacy Ground Fern, (Dennstaedita davallioides), long creeping rhizomes, dense groundcover, Australia, Dennstaedtiaceae
Japanese lady fern, (Deparia petersenii), creeping growth, long rhizomes, thick groundcover, invasive, Australia, East Asia, Athyriaceae
Umbrella fern, (Gleichenia flabellata), fan fern has mesarch protostele where some metaxylem forms centrifugally adjacent to the phloem, but most forms
centripetally towards the centre of the stem, large Australasian fern with fanlike repeatedly forked fronds, Gleicheniaceae
Harsh ground fern, (Hypolepis muelleri), stiff upright fronds, large colonies, Australia, Dennstaedtiaceae
Shiny shield fern, (Lastreopsis acuminata), short rhizome with clustered fronds up to 45 cm long, pale-brown stipe, widespread in rainforests, Australia
Nardoo, (Marsilea drummondii), nardoo lemna, water clover fern, perennial aquatic fern, roots in mud substrate, floats on the surface, native Australian
food, "seed" collected and processed into flour, Marsileaceae
Kangaroo paw fern, (Microsorum diversifolium), kangaroo fern, up to 30 cm, low-growing spreading hairy rhizomes, odd-shaped leathery green fronds,
used as groundcover or in hanging pots, Australia, Polypodiaceae
Fishtail fern, (Microsorum punctatum), climbing bird's nest fern, terrestrial elkhorn fern, crested fern, epiphytic or rock growing, upright flat strap-like fronds,
creeping rhizome has dense hairs scales, fronds up to 150 cm long, shiny surface, circular superficial sori, Australia, Polypodiaceae
Sword fern, (Nephrolepis exaltata), Boston fern, lace fern, dense clump of leaves, lush green terrestrial or epiphytic fern, commonly grown, houseplant,
Polypodiaceae
Adder's tongue fern, (Ophioglossum vulgatum), up to 20 cm, very high chromosome count, folk medicine, wound poultice, "green oil of charity", tea for internal
bleeding, widespread, very high chromosome count, herbal medicine, Ophioglossaceae
Sickle fern, (Pellaea falcata), dwarf sickle fern, rigid clumping perennial herb spreading from short, branched underground stems, Australia, Pteridaceae
New Zealand button fern, (Pellaea rotundifolia), button fern, New Zealand cliffbrake, sickle fern, leathery leaflets, dry conditions, has siphonostele, tubular stele
with xylem and phloem as a hollow tube around the pith, distinctive button-like foliage houseplant, Pteridaceae
Green cliff brake, (Pellaea viridis), sickle fern, green brake fern, houseplant, invasive, Australia, Pteridaceae
Christmas fern, (Polystichum acrostichoides), sword fern, American sword fern, has many rows of sori on pinnules of fern, North America, Dryopteridaceae
Hard shield-fern, (Polystichum aculeatum), buds formed near end of frond may root when touching the soil, the true indusium is stalked structure lower epidermis,
common ornamental, Europe, Dryopteridaceae
Elk horn fern, (Platycerium bifurcatum), common staghorn fern, elk's horn, broad fertile fronds like stag's horns, sterile fronds cover roots, ornamental fern,
Polypodiaceae
Staghorn fern, (Platycerium superbum), ornamental, Australia, Polypodiaceae
Staghorn fern, (Platycerium superbum), Daleys Fruit Trees
Giant staghorn fern, (Platycerium grande), epiphyte, fertile fronds like a stag's antlers, overcollection so critically endangered species, Philippines, Polypodiaceae
Queen staghorn, (Platycerium wandae), the largest staghorn, Papua New Guinea, Polypodiaceae
Bear's paw fern (Polypodium aureum), blue-green arching deeply-cut leaves with wavy edges, fur-like rhizomes at the base of the fronds, native to tropical regions,
houseplant to drape over a hanging basket, indirect sunlight, Polypodiaceae.
Common polypody, (Polypodium vulgare), fern, rockcap fern, climbing fern, angle vein fern, leather leaf fern, American rock fern, herbal medicine slime on tree
trunks by using adherent scales, branched rhizome, fern, Polypodiaceae
Western bracken fern, (Pteridium aquilinum), "bracken", induces abortion, croier-like coiling of young leaves, the false indusium is
the leaf margin curved towards the lower surface of the sporophyll, creeping branching rhizome, starchy rhizomes are edible, herbal medicine, Pteridaceae
See diagram: Pteridium, bracken fern
See diagram: Pteridium prothallus, sporophyte
Cretan brake fern, (Pteris cretica), stove fern, deeply divided green fronds with slender serrated leaflets, houseplant, Pteridaceae
Slender brake fern, (Pteris ensiformis), silver lace fern, paku padang, houseplant, herbal medicine, Pteridaceae
Leather fern, (Rumohra adiantiformis), leatherleaf fern, tropical Southern Hemisphere, Dryopteridaceae
Common salvinia, (Salvinia minima), water spangles, aquatic, floating fern, invasive, South America, Salviniaceae
Giant salvinia, (Salvinia molesta), Kariba weed, free-floating fern, forms dense mats on water, many branched horizontal stems, float just below the water surface,
at each node a pair of floating oval-shaped hairy fronds, dense infestations cause mats, choke waterways, no true roots, serious water weed, infestations reduce water
flow, degrade water quality, and affect native animals, stock, and recreational users, Queensland restricted invasive plant, Brazil, Salviniaceae
Lacy tree fern, (Sphaeropteris cooperi, Cyathia cooperi), scaly tree fern, commonly cultivated ornamental, Australia, Cyatheaceae
Norfolk tree fern (Sphaeropteris excelsa), ornamental, largest fern in the world, Norfolk Island, Cyatheaceae
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9.10.2 Ferns experiments
1. Examine Dryopteris, wood fern.
Note the rhizome and adventitious roots, stem and compound leaves, fronds.
Note the sori (singular: sorus) under the recurved fronds where spores are formed.
Dryopteris has rounded sori.
Pteridium has long sori along the margins of the pinnules.
Look for the sori under a leaf, compound leaf or frond, coiled young leaf, rhizome, and roots.
2. Cut a transverse section of a pinnule of Dryopteris to pass through a sorus.
Observe the tissues of the leaf, the placenta, sporangia in various stages of development in the indusium.
3. Dehiscence of fern sporangia Pteridium
Scrape some ripe sporangia into a drop of glycerine on a slide.
The glycerine withdraws water from the annulus cells and thus causes the opening of the sporangia.
You can slow the movements of the annulus with glycerine.
Scrape other sporangia on to a warm slide and observe the annulus movements under the microscope.
4. Fern prothallus Pteridium
To grow fern prothalli, place a soaked flower pot inside a larger one, packing the space between with wet sphagnum or peat.
Allow a mature frond bearing a sorus to dry on a piece of paper and then scatter the spores so obtained on the inner surface of the small flower pot.
Stand the pots in an inch or so of water and cover the top of the pots with a sheet of glass.
Green prothalli will soon appear, and you can observe successive stages in their development.
Observe the archegonia and the liberation of sperms from the antheridia.
Young sporophytes will develop if you water the prothalli after they show archegonia.
9.10.3 Division Sphenophyta (horsetails)
Horsetails, (Equisetum arvense), common horsetail, giant horsetail, field horsetail, innkraut, pewter plant, scouring rush, candock, snake grass, pulegrass,
herbaceous perennial, looks like a Christmas tree, up to 60 cm, strange tasting tea, | natural flavonoid Kaempferol, C15H10O6 | herbal medicine, wound-healing
poultice, fern, invasive and almost ineradicable weed, garden herb, (fossil: Calamites), primitive, non-woody, herbaceous,
appearance of miniature bamboo, leaves are greatly reduced, non-photosynthetic, grow in whorls of 6–18 on the main shoots, are fused part of length into
nodal sheaths, plant does not flower, stems are green and photosynthetic, fruiting cones at ends of stems, produce pale-green spores, China, Equisetaceae
Dried herb is sold as aerials.
(Equisetum is the only genus in Equisetaceae, Division Polypodiophyta.)
9.10.4 Clubmoss
9.10.4.1 Clubmoss experiments
Lycophyte, (class Lycopodiopsida); Isoetales (quillworts), Lycopodiales (clubmosses, firmosses), Selaginellales (spikemosses)
Family Lycopodiaceae, clubmoss, ground pine, with spores are on a club-like structure, chromosome count, n = 34
Family Huperiaceae, firmosses, with spore-bearing structures in the axils of leaves, chromosome count, n = 67
Isoetes Isoetaceae
Hupereia, Lycopodiaceae
Lycopodium, Lycopodiaceae
Selaginella
Water tassel-fern, (Hupereia serrata), toothed clubmoss, huperia, Chinese medicine | Huperine , Lycopodiaceae
Plain quillwort, (Isoetes drummondii sub drummondii), live crowded together in dry places, Australia, Isoetaceae
Isoetes species are usually submerged plants in freshwater lakes
Quillwort, (Isoetes drummondii), small freshwater aquatic or semi-aquatic herb, trilobed corm embedded in the soil, cylindrical and tapering leaves tufted
at the top of the stem, globular sporangia in leaf bases. white tuberculate megaspores in outer leaves, numerous microspores form dark powdery mass in inner leaves,
Isoetaceae.
| Phylum Tracheophyta | Class Lycopodiopsida | Order Isoetales | Family Isoetaceae | Genus Isoetes |
(Greekisoetes 'alike', etos 'year'), submerged species evergreen throughout the year.
Clubmoss, (Lycopodium clavatum), common clubmoss, stag's-horn clubmoss, stag horn moss, ground pine, Lycopodiaceae
Lycopodium, ground pines, creeping cedars, ("lycopodium" means 'wolf's foot')
Interrupted clubmoss, (Lycopodium annotinum), Icelandic Clubmoss | Annotine , Lycopodiaceae
A Lycopodium plant is not a "fern" or a "moss"!
Maidenhair creeper, (Lycopodium flexuosum), rhiomatous perennial climbing fern. thin wiry dense vines, climbing from the horiontal rhizomes,
herbal medicine, noxious weed in Asian rice fields, Australia, Asia, Lycopodiaceae
Old world climbing fern, (Lycopodium microphyllum), ribu-ribu, selada, invasive weed, Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, Lycopodiaceae
Rock tassel fern, (Lycopodium squarrosum), droops from rain forest tree limbs, Africa, Polynesia, Australia and Asia Lycopodiaceae
9.10.4.1 Clubmoss experiments
1. Clubmoss spores called "lycopodium powder", or "flash powder" may explode in the air if ignited, fine yellow powder, highly flammable, called "Dragon's Breath" at magic shops, dangerous game to throw at people's legs then ignite.
2. Lycopodium powder, made from the dried spores of Clubmoss, contain a lot of fat, which is hydrophobic.
Sprinkle lycopodium powder on the surface of water, then stick your finger through the powder into the water.
The lycopodium powder coats your finger and prevents the water from touching your skin, so when you pull out your finger, it feels dry.
Dried herb sold as Clubmoss spores powder.
Tallebudgera spikemoss, (Selaginella andrewsii), terrestrial plant, with a creeping habit, scrubby branches up to 20 cm,
slender wiry stems, rooting along their length, broadly ovate leaves with finely toothed margins and and narrowing to a point bear spores,
cone-like structures (strobili) are at the ends of branches.
Selaginella, Selaginellaceae, spikemoss, Class Lycopodiopsida
African Clubmoss, (Selaginella kraussiana), spreading clubmoss, creeping stems, green foliage, prostrate plant with rhiophore shoots root-like organs formed at forks in axis, roots readily, houseplant, Selaginellaceae
Resurrection plant, (Selaginella lepidophylla), desert plant, survives desiccation, when dry like ball of dead foliage, with water forms rosette shape,
houseplant, Selaginellaceae
Variegated spikemoss, (Selaginella martensii), upright stems to 30 cm, later decumbent, aerial roots, houseplant, Mexico, Central America, Selaginellaceae
9.10.5 Division Polypodiophyta (whisk ferns)
Whisk fern, (Psilotum nudum), fork fern, two species, tropics and subtropics, "living fossil", no roots, epiphytic and terrestrial, leaves greatly reduced,
but green wiry stems, rhizome produces reduced leaves not roots, one of the few nonflowering rootless weeds, usually epiphytic or in rock crevices, ornamental,
stems like chicken feet, spores colledcted for talcum powder and as a purge, was used as a small broom, widespread in the world, Psilotaceae
(Latin nudum 'naked'), because it seems to lack the organs of vascular plants, but some exist in a reduced form
Long fork-fern, (Tmesipteris obliqua), common fork-fern, epiphytic, narrow unbranched leafy stems, up to 60 cm, spirally arranged sessile leaves
with single vein, leaf-like sporophyll lobes, rhizome but no true roots, grows on trunks of tree ferns and in rocky places, non-flowering, spore forming,
widespread in coastal rainforests in eastern Australia.
Hanging fork fern, (Tmesipteris elongata), rhizome dichotomously branched, up to 3.5 mm diameter, densely clad in dark brown rhioids, aerial shoot developing
over one or many years, "living fossil", has several hundred chromosomes
Clubmoss, Lycopodiophyta Division
Kingdom: Plantae
Marchantiophyta (liverworts)
Bryophyta (mosses)
Anthocerotophyta (hornworts)
Tracheophyta (vascular plants)
Selaginella experiments
See diagram: Selaginella
1. Look for the Selaginella plant, cone, scale leaves, lateral leaves, rhizophores.
Observe the microsporangia containing many microspores, and megasporangium containing four megaspores.
The Clubmoss have club-shaped cones that bear spores and are known as "fern allies".
Plants of the Selaginella genus, spikemoss, are small prostrate plants with four rows of small leaves on the axis.
They live in damp places.
(Selaginella kraussiana) and (Selaginella martensii) are grown in greenhouses.
The Selaginella plant is a sporophyte bearing microsporangia and megasporangia in the same cone.
A microsporangium produces microspores to be dropped onto damp soil and later eject a swimming sperm.
The larger megasporangium produces megaspores to be dropped onto the soil, germinate in rainy weather,
and produce a female prothallus with an ovum inside.
The ovum is fertilized by the sperm to form a zygote that grows into the next sporophyte generation.
Both types of spores have a tri-radiate ridge from origin in the tetrads following meiosis.
Experiments
1. Collect the microspores and megaspores from a ripe cone and scatter the spores on moist absorbent paper.
Observe the development of young sporophytes.
2. In Lycopodium note the presence of definite cones.
Examine the sporangia, both externally and by cutting sections of the cones.
Ascophyllum
Division Ochrophyta, Phaeophycophyta, Class Phaeophyceae, Ulvophyceae, Family Fucaceae, Ascophyllum
(Ascophyllum nodosum), (Fucus nodosus), only species in genus Ascophyllum, knotted wrack, Atlantic kelp, rockweed, knotted kelp, Norwegian kelp, egg wrack,
cold water seaweed, large brown seaweed, occurs in sheltered waters, male plants up to 2 m, long strap-like slimy fronds with large egg-shaped air
bladders, used as a vegan nutritional supplement and garden fertilizer, Fucaceae, North Atlantic Ocean, (not around Australia).
The seaweed solutions sold to gardeners may be made from knotweed kelp (Ascophyllum nodosum).
Dried herb sold as "frond powder" and "flakes".
Brown forking weed, (Bifurcaria bifurcata), occurs in Atlantic coast rock pools, Sargassaceae.
Cutleria, Family Cutleriaceae, Class Phaeophyceae, Cutleria multifida, has 48 chromosomes.
Desmarestia, Family Desmarestiaceae, Class Phaeophyceae, Desmarestia ligulata, colour changer, flattened weed, sea sorrel
Dictyota, Family Dictyotaceae, Class Phaeophyceae, doubling weed, in Florida rapid asexual reproduction from fragments
(Dictyota binghamiae), mermaid's glove, is up to 40 m length
Durvillaea, Family Durvillaeaceae, Class Phaeophyceae, southern bull kelp, prolific growth, used as garden fertilizer
(Durvillaea antarctica) and (Durvillaea poha), have buoyant fronds which holds air so may drift long distances
Ecklonia, Family Lessoniaceae, Class Phaeophyceae
Ectocarpus, Family Ectocarpaceae, Class Phaeophyceae
Leather kelp, (Ectocarpus silicosis), hair-like, found everywhere, Ectocarpaceae
Toothed wrack, (Fucus serratus), serrated wrack, olive-brown, dichotomous branching, discoid holdfast, north Atlantic Ocean, Fucaceae
Spiral wrack, (Fucus spiralis), intertidal brown seaweed, can tolerate desiccation on upper shore, Europe, Fucaceae
Bladder wrack, (Fucus vesiculosus), kelp, seaweed with buoyancy bladders, chlorophyll yellow fucoxanthin, herbal medicine, Algae, Fucaceae
Dried herb sold as seaweed frond pieces.
Oarweed, (Laminaria digitata), kombu, kelp horsetail, laminarin, laminaran, is harvested offshore for making alginic acid used in cosmetics, fertiliser.
It is used to extract potash and of iodine, traditional medicine abortifacient, inducing labour, Europe, Morocco, Family Laminariaceae, Class Phaeophyceae
Dried herb sold as frond powder.
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Ma-konbu, (Laminaria japonica), widely harvested edible seaweed, the original source of MSG, monosodium glutamate, ajinomoto, C5H8NNaO4, Laminariaceae
Giant kelp, (Macrocystis pyrifera), kelp forests alginates algin used to thicken ice cream, edible, North America, Laminariaceae
Bull kelp, (Nereocystis luetkeana), bladder wrack, up to 36 m, north-east coast of North America, Laminariaceae
Wakame, (Undaria pinnatifida), miyeok, Asian kelp, large brown edible seaweed, is used in miso soup, invasive, Alaeiaceae.
Royal Bluebell, (Wahlenbergia gloriosa), Australian National Herbarium