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pteridophyte

pteridophyte

9.9
A plant like a fern that has tubes to move water and makes spores instead of seeds
  • noun
  • /ˌtɛrɪˈdɒfɪt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pteridofito
  • Ferns are an example of pteridophytes that thrive in moist, shady environments.
  • a homosporous pteridophyte
  • pteridophyte genetics
  • pteridophyte evolution

Examples

  • Unfortunately, the highest diversity of pteridophytes is located in tropical regions having restricted access to laboratory facilities.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The homosporous pteridophytes produce spores that are uniform in size.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Nonetheless, the last quarter century has seen considerable change in our understanding of pteridophyte evolution and genetics.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Island systems have also provided some valuable new information for understanding the structure of pteridophyte populations and the flow of genes among populations.

    Academic text (2002)
  • On the other hand, not all island pteridophytes are selfing species.

    Academic text (2002)
  • When the same numbers are applied to the pteridophytes, over 95% may be called polyploid.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Most analyses of island pteridophytes have focused on species in Hawaii.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Some hypotheses about how plants with the reproductive characteristics of pteridophytes "should" function on islands have been supported, but others have not.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Only by fully integrating all of these components can we obtain an accurate picture of the evolutionary potential of homosporous pteridophytes.

    Academic text (2002)
  • The Isotaceae are a small, cosmopolitan family of aquatic, heterosporous pteridophytes that are related to the extant Selaginellaceae and Lycopodiaceae families.

    Blog text (27)

Synonyms

nonflowering plant
vspteridophyte
  • Specialized
4.6

A plant that has tubes that carry water and food and makes spores instead of flowers or seeds

is a named group of vascular spore producing plants including ferns

Surface Forms

pteridophyte singular
pteridophytes plural

Morphology

pteridophyte = phyte (opaque) = pterido + phyte

The term 'pterido' is not a standalone English word and requires specialized botanical knowledge to understand its meaning related to ferns.

Etymology

Pteridophyte comes from Greek parts pteris 'fern' and -phyte 'plant'. So it literally means a 'fern-plant', which helps you remember that pteridophytes are plants like ferns that have small tubes to move water and make spores instead of seeds.