Pteridophyta Characteristics
1. Pteridophytes are the first true land plants:
It is speculated that life began in the oceans, and through millions of years of evolution, life slowly adapted on to dry land. And among the first of the plants to truly live on land were the Pteridophytes.
2. They are seedless, vascular cryptogams:
Pteridophytes are seedless and they procreate through spores. They don’t have conducting tissues for transportation of water and minerals. Instead, the water and minerals flow from the surface of the plant- cell to cell in the plant’s body. This is also one of the reasons why these plants need a constantly moist environment to survive.
3. They show true alternation of generations:
The sporophyte generation and the gametophyte generation are observed in Pteridophytes.
4. Sporophyte has true roots, stem and leaves:
They contain vascular tissues.
5. Spores developed in sporangia are homosporous or heterosporous:
The sporangium is the structures in which spores are formed. They are usually homosporous (meaning: one type of spore is produced) and are also heterosporous, (meaning: two kinds of spores are produced.)