Tag: plant kingdom

In the life cycle of Funaria, two distinct individuals occur. One of these is haploid and is the independent leafy plant. The other is diploid, leafless sporogonium. It is partially dependent on the leafy gametophyte for its nutrition.

Funaria is both monoecious and autoecious. The antheridium (male sex organ) are born on different heads of the same plant. Hence, it is both autoecious and monoecious.

Sex organs in Funaria develop at the tip of gametophore since the plant itself constitutes the gametophytic phase. After fertilization develops the capsule from which protonema develops from the spores that dehisces from the capsule. The capsule constitutes the sporophytic phase. The plant shows an alternation of generation, between the sporophytic and gametophytic phase.

The mature sporophyte of Funaria is much more complex than that of the liverworts. It is differentiated into foot, seta and capsule. The foot forms the basal portion of sporophyte. The seta is a long cylinder reddish brown, stalk-like structure. It carries the capsule at its top and raises it more than an inch above the apex of the leafy gametophore.

In Funaria, fertilization occurs, as in other Bryophytes, when the plants are wet with rain or dew. The apical cell of the antheridium, which forms operculum absorbs water and bursts. The spirally coiled bi-flagellate antherozoids escape from antheridium, while still enclosed within a vesicle. The vesicle eventually dissolves in water and the antherozoids are set free. They reach the archegonial cluster.

Funaria is monoecious and autoecious i.e., male and female reproductive structures develop on different branches of the same plant. Monoecious means both male and female sex organs are borne on the same plant body.