Question

Which is not a feature of bryophytes ?

• A. Commonly, they grow in damp habitat
• B. In general, the main plant body is a sporophyte
• C. Vasculature is absent
• D. Sexual reproduction is oogamous

Hint:

In bryophytes, it is the gametophyte, not the sporophyte, that dominates the visible plant body.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Bryophytes, the group including mosses, liverworts and hornworts, are commonly found in moist, shaded habitats since their reproduction depends on a film of water for sperm to swim to the egg.

Step 2: They lack true vascular tissue (xylem and phloem), and most bryophytes reproduce sexually by oogamy, a large non-motile egg fertilised by a small motile sperm.

Step 3: The main, dominant, photosynthetic plant body in bryophytes is actually the gametophyte, not the sporophyte, the sporophyte in bryophytes is a small, short lived structure that remains attached to and dependent on the gametophyte for nourishment.

Step 4: So the statement claiming the main plant body is a sporophyte is incorrect, making it the feature that does not belong to bryophytes.