Question

‘Amphibians’ of the plant kingdom are ____________
(a)Thallophyta
(b)Bryophyta
(c)Lichens
(d)Rhodophyta

Answer 1

Hint: One special characteristic of amphibians of the plant kingdom is that asexual reproduction takes place by the formation of specialized structures called gemmae. These gemmae are asexual buds that are green and multicellular in nature and found inside gemma cups.

Complete answer:
Amphibians are a class of vertebrates that live on land as well as water. This is because even though they are adapted for living on land, they require water for laying their gametes which will then fertilize resulting in sexual reproduction. In the case of plants, bryophytes are known as the amphibians of the plant kingdom as these plants live on soil but depend on water for sexual reproduction. This is because water provides a medium where the gametes won’t desiccate due to heat as well as the male gametes can swim in the water to reach the female gametes. This is the reason why bryophytes are found in damp and moist conditions.

Additional Information:
-Bryophytes include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.
-The plant body of bryophytes is thallus-like and contains root-like, leaf-like, and stem-like structures instead of true roots, stem, and leaves.
-The main plant body of bryophytes is haploid thus is known as gametophyte and contains multicellular sex organs.
-The male sex organ is known as antheridium that produces biflagellate antherozoids whereas the female sex organ is known as archegonium that produces a single egg.
-The antherozoids are released into the water through which they swim and reach the egg to fertilize it.
-The zygote formed undergoes mitosis to form a multicellular body called sporophyte which is diploid in nature.
-Some cells of the sporophyte produce spores through meiosis which germinate to produce gametophyte.

So, the correct option is ‘Bryophyta’.

Note: -The sporophytic body is not free-living and is dependent on the photosynthetic gametophyte for nourishment.
-Mosses along with lichens are known as pioneer species as they are the first organisms to colonize rocks and start a new ecosystem.
-An example of moss is Sphagnum which is used as fuel as well as packing material for trans-shipment of living material because they can hold water.