Ferns

Some small with undivided leaves

Some tree ferns are super large

The fern embryo of some proudces a true root which wthres and the rest of the roots arise from the rhizomes near the bases of the leaves

Leaves= fronds are megaphylls (large leaves)

Fronds can be compounded into pinnae that are attached to the petioles

Young leaves are coiled= fiddleheads

Both fiddleheads and rhizomes are usually clothed with either heads or scales

The leaves of Marsilea resemble those of a four-leaf clover

Drought resistant, bean-shpaed reproductive structures called sporocarps germinate when placed in water

tropics but some in temperate regions

Some gametophytes are subterranean, tuberous elongated with numerous rhizoids; others have vascular tissue

The gametophytes are bisexual, bearing both antheridia and archegonia

The gametophyte typically develops rapidly into a flat, heart-shaped, usually membranous structure (prothallus) that has numerous rhizoids on the lower surface

Both anth and arch develop on the lower surface of the prothallusAntheridia more common among rhizoids; archegonia formed near notch

• Sporangia commonly occur in clusters called sori, which are colored dots or lines on the lower surface of the frond
• The sori are covered by specialized outgrowths of the leaf, the indusial
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• Spores give rise to free-living, potentially bisexual gametophytes

Sporophyte has a foot embedded in gametophyte

Sporophyte is the perennial stage in ferms and the gametophyte is short-lived