Question

Embryophyta includes
A) Algae
B) Fungi
C) Bryophyta
D) All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Embryophyta is the familiar group of green plants. They are also known as land plants or terrestrial plants as they live in terrestrial habitats. They are complex multicellular eukaryotes with reproductive organs.

Complete answer:
The cells of embryophyta are similar to green algae, but differ in cell division. Embryophyta has a cell wall composed of cellulose and plastids surrounded by two membranes. They also have an enlarged central vacuole enclosed by a vacuolar membrane which keeps the plant rigid. Oswald Tippo in 1942 classified the plant kingdom into:- Thallophyta and Embryophyta. Thallophyta may be defined as a thalloid plant body without distinct alternation of generations and absence of embryo. Embryophyta is organ level differentiation of the plant body with regular alternation of sporophyte and gametophyte generations and embryo is present.
Two important features of Embryophyta reproductive cycles are:-
Their gametophytes produce sperm and eggs in multicellular structures, fertilization of ovum takes place within archegonium.
The initial stage of development of fertilized egg into a diploid sporophyte occurs in the archegonium where both of them are protected and nutrition is provided.
As algae and fungi lack embryos they come under sub-kingdom Thallophyta. The subkingdom Embryophyta includes Bryophyta and Tracheophyta.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘C’ Bryophyta.

Note: Bryophytes are the group consisting of non-vascular land plants embryophytes like liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophytes consist of about 20,000 plant species. Bryophytes lack roots and require contact with water to absorb it directly into their leaves. The study of Bryophytes is called bryology.