Question

Spirogyra is a
A.Bryophyte
B.Angiosperm
C.Algae
D.Gymnosperm

Answer 1

Hint:Spirogyra belongs to the order Zygnematales. It is named such according to its helical or spiral arrangement of the chloroplast. There are generally more than 400 species of spirogyra and generally found in freshwater habitats.

Complete answer:
Option C-Spirogyra is an alga and is from one of the species of free-floating green algae. They belong to the kingdom Plantae and some of its other names are water silk, mermaid’s tresses, pond scum. It is a unicellular organism but sometimes or most probably found under unfavorable conditions, it combines together to form a multicellular structure. Spirogyra consists of a cell wall, mucilaginous sheath, cytoplasm, a protein-containing body called pyrenoids, chloroplast which helps it to make its own food, cell membrane, vacuole.
The vegetative part of spirogyra is called a thallus.

Let's see other options-
Option A- Bryophyte- are non-vascular, small plants. They are considered to be the amphibians of the plant kingdom and spirogyra does not belong to this division.
Option B-Angiosperm- are the flowering plants and produce fruits through seeds.
These are a large group of plants and can be differentiated from small, microscopic plants to tall trees.
Option D-Gymnosperms- are plants which have naked seeds and generally, include medium to tall sized trees. Roots of gymnosperm plants generally have a fungal association called mycorrhiza or associated with nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria. The leaves of gymnosperms have thick and sunken stomata in certain places to reduce the loss of water. Spirogyra does not belong to this group.

So, option C is the correct answer.

Note:Spirogyra is known as protein-rich substitutes and used by astronauts as food while space traveling. Spirogyra has pyrenoids, storage bodies in the chloroplast, and has starch along with protein due to which it is treated as a food substitute of protein.