embryophyte

Examples of embryophyte in the following topics:

• Charales

  • Algae in the order Charales live in fresh water and are often considered the closest-living relatives of embryophytes.
  • Green algae in the order Charales, and the coleochaetes, microscopic green algae that enclose their spores in sporopollenin, are considered the closest-living relatives of embryophytes.
  • Like embryophytes, Charales exhibit a number of traits that are significant in their adaptation to land life.
  • New information from recent, extensive DNA sequence analysis of green algae indicates that the Zygnematales are more closely-related to the embryophytes than the Charales.

• The Major Divisions of Land Plants

  • Land plants, or embryophytes, are classified by the presence or absence of vascular tissue and how they reproduce (with or without seeds).
  • Land plants, which are called embryophytes, are classified into two major groups according to the absence or presence of vascular tissue .
  • Non-vascular embryophytes probably appeared early in land plant evolution and are all seedless.

• Streptophytes and Reproduction of Green Algae

  • Cells in green algae divide along cell plates called phragmoplasts and their cell walls are layered with cellulose in the same manner as the cell walls of embryophytes.
  • Consequently, land plants (embryophytes) and closely-related green algae (Charophyta) are now part of a new monophyletic group called Streptophyta.
  • The Charophyta are a division of green algae that includes the closest relatives of the embryophyte plants .

• Plant Adaptations to Life on Land

  • This distinguishing feature of land plants gave the group its alternate name of embryophytes.