Question

The largest bryophyte is
(a)Funaria (moss)
(b)Marchantia
(c)Megaceros
(d)Dawsonia

Answer 1

Hint: These are the tallest self-supporting moss in the world growing typically to 60 cm in height. They are found all over the planet except within saltwater environments.

Complete answer:
The Largest bryophyte Dawsonia is classified in mosses and is kept in the family of polytrichaceae. These are commonly known to grow taller and have thicker leaves than other common mosses. The reason behind their tallness is known that they are acrocarpous which means that they have vertical stems with reproductive structures present at the end of the axis, this property helps them to grow taller. They may reach up to 19 inches. Dawsonia is a genus of acrocarpous mosses. Dawsonia, alongside other members of the order Polytrichales, are taller than most mosses and have thicker leaves. Their sporophytes have conducting systems analogous to those of vascular plants. Dawsonia Superba is found in New Zealand, Australia, and New Guinea. D. longifolia is found in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Australia. There is uncertainty as to whether D. Superba and D. longifolia are distinct species.

So, the correct answer is, ‘Dawsonia’.

Note: -Dawsonia was named in honor of Dawson Turner (1775–1858), a distinguished cryptogamist and friend of Robert Brown, who named the genus in 1811.
-Moss gametophytes lack internal transport tissues, which, including the absence of cuticles, results in the water-loss characteristic of bryophytes.
-As bryophytes can only grow when hydrated, the shortage of conducting tissue restricts most mosses, even in relatively wet habitats, to a coffee stature.
-However, Dawsonia (along with other genera within the Polytrichales order) reaches heights like those of vascular plants. Polytrichales are acrocarpous mosses – they have vertical stems with the terminal.