Question

Consider the following four statements whether they are correct or wrong.
a) The sporophyte in liverworts is more elaborate than in mosses.
b) Salvinia is heteros-porous.
c) The life-cycle in all seed-bearing plants is diplontic.
d) Pinus, male and female cones are borne on different trees.
The two wrong statements together are:
A. Statements (a) and (b)
B. Statements (a) and (c)
C. Statements (a) and (d)
D. Statements (b) and (c)

Answer 1

Hint: Like all the other ferns in the class Salviniales, Salvinia is heterosporous, producing spores in various sizes. Leaf growth of Salvinia, nevertheless, is peculiar. In the diplontic development cycle, the diploid (2n) is the dominant free-living period. This type of life cycle is displayed by all seed-bearing plants, i.e. gymnosperm and angiosperm.

Step by step answer: Mosses and liverworts are bryophytes that are commonly found in the hills in moist, shaded areas. While bryophyte, their main plant body is haploid, that gives rise to gametes. The sporophytic stage of bryophytes is not free-living, instead, it is attached to the gametophyte for nutrition. However, like that of the sporophyte of liverworts, the sporophyte of mosses is also differentiated into foot, seta, and capsule. The sporophyte in mosses, however, is more elaborate than the capsule in liverworts.
Pinus is a gymnosperm. It is a monoecious plant in which, male and female cones are borne on different branches of the same plant. The male cone (staminate/microsporangiate strobilus) bears spirally arranged microsporophylls on the central axis. Salient features of Pinus are as follows:
i. They are evergreen, perennial lofty trees with spirally growing branches which give pyramidal or conical appearance.
ii. The body is divided into stem, roots and needle-like leaves.
iii. The stem is erect and cylindrical and is covered with bark.
Hence, the correct answer is option C.

Note: Salvinia, a species in the Salviniaceae family, is an aquatic fern awarded the title of the Italian scientist Anton Maria Salvini. A common nickname for Salvinia is Water moss. The top part of the floating leaf is phenotypically abaxial, which appears to face the stem axis. From the human perspective, plants pose a unique hindrance to lakes when their expansion is vigorous.