Question

Which one of the following is called maidenhair fern?
(A) Dryopteris
(B) Pteris
(C) Adiantum
(D) Lycopodium
(E) Selaginella

Answer 1

Hint: The Adiantum belongs to the subfamily Vittarioideae and the family Pteridaceae. It is the small fern which is distributed over the parts of Africa, Australia, Norfolk Island and New Zealand. They possess the leaves of the unbranched veins.

Complete Answer:
- These plants possess the bright and the delicately cut leaves. These plants grow in the areas with the moist humus rich and the well-drained soil. So these plants prefer to grow on rocks in the waterfalls and water seepage area.
- These plants like to grow only in the acidic soil. These plants reproduce sexually and there by fusing the gametes of the male and the female plants.
- The gametophyte of these plants is heart shaped and short and survives in nature. But these have no capability to undergo the asexual reproduction.
- They are very different in appearance than the other plants. They have the drooping fern and the leaf segments are in the shape of the fan. They possess the wire like black stem with large and divided leaves. Hence it is called the maidenhair fern.

Thus the option (C) is correct.

Note: Due to their beautiful appearance, they are used as the decorative and the ornamental plants. These plants turn to dry and hence a few days after these ornamental plants are cut down to get the beautiful plants again. These plants have the survival time of one year.