Question

Mosses and ferns are found in moist and shady places because both
(a)Require the presence of water for fertilization
(b)Do not need sunlight for photosynthesis
(c)Depend for their nutrition on micro-organisms which can survive only at low temperatures
(d)Can’t compete with sun-loving plants

Answer 1

Hint: Bryophytes and pteridophytes require a thin film of water because their flagellated sperms needed to swim between antheridium and archegonium. They have no flowers and are seedless plants. Comparatively, ferns are more developed plants as the plant body of ferns is differentiated into true leaves, stem, and roots.

Complete step-by-step answer:
Mosses and ferns are found in moist and shady places because both require the presence of water for sexual reproduction. As fertilization takes place only in the presence of water, through motile antherozoids that swim to reach the archegonium. Usually, in bryophytes, it passes through the canal formed by the disintegration of the neck and ventral canal cells and fuses with the egg. In humid regions, reproduction is more intense and they proliferate.

Additional Information:
 -Mosses are bryophytes (also known as 'amphibians of plant kingdom'), which are small and resemble lichens. Furthermore, they are photosynthetic plants and play an important role in regulating ecosystems. They are very good indicators of habitat quality and also provide an important buffer system for other plants. Moss reproduces vegetatively or asexually when parts of the plant break off and form new plants with identical genetic information.
- Ferns belong to group Pteridophyta. To reproduce asexually ferns produce spores. If the spores land somewhere suitable, they can grow into what is called a gametophyte (that is a whole separate individual plant).
-The key difference between mosses and ferns is that mosses are small non-vascular plants whereas ferns are vascular plants. Mosses and ferns are plants with primitive origins and show alternation of generation.

So, the correct answer is 'Require the presence of water for fertilization'.

Note: In plants, fertilization occurs when haploid gametes (male and female gamete) by certain agents meet to create a diploid zygote. Archegonium is the female structure that produces egg cells and antheridium is the male structure that produces sperm cells.