Question

APPLYING YOUR KNOWLEDGE 1. The fossil record provides little information about ancient mosses. Do you think that bryophytes could ever have been large, tree-sized plants? Pro vide evidence from your investigations to support your answer. 2. On a walk through a botanical garden, you notice a small leafy plant that is growing along the edge of a small stream in a shady nook. You hypothesize that this plant is a lycophyte. What information can you gather to test your hypothesis?

Answer 1

1) It is unlikely that bryophytes were ever large, tree - sized plants.

Lack of vascular tissue would prevent efficient transport of nutrients, photosynthetic product and water. Diffusion and cytoplasmic streaming would not allow the transport of materials across great distances and against gravity.

2) I take my magnifying glass pluck a leaf off the plant count the number of veins in a leaf . One vein means lycophyte, more veins means other plants.