Page 93 - General and Inorganic Chemistry for Advanced Secondary Schools Students Book Form Five and Six

Biology for Secondary Schools

Distinctive features of bryophytes of oxygen to the atmosphere,
(a) They are simple plants which lack which is used by animals and
true roots, stems and leaves (See other organisms.
Figure 5.18).
(b) They have an erect plant body, Disadvantages of mosses
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which is leafy in nature. (a) Moss plants are common weeds
(c) They have no vascular tissue, in gardens and can be difficult to
meaning that they have no xylem eliminate.
and phloem. (b) Sometimes, they grow on the
(d) They usually depend on water for surface and walls of buildings,
sexual reproduction. making them look old and
unattractive.
Sporophyte Capsule Division Filicinophyta (Pteridophyta)

Seta
Activity 5.8: Investigating the structure
Gametophyte
of a fern plant

Leaf-like structures Materials: Fern plants, petri dish,
hand lens, notebook, and pen or pencil

Rhizoids
Procedure
Figure 5.18: Structure of a moss plant 1. Collect some fern plants from
the school or home environment.
Advantages of mosses
(a) They help to decompose dead logs Caution
and enhance nutrient circulation. Care must be taken when
(b) They are early colonisers of open collecting fern plants. Get only
woodland; hence they help in what is required instead of
creating a favourable environment destroying the whole plant.
for the development of higher 2. Use a hand lens to examine
plants. different types of ferns.
(c) They provide food to heterotrophs,
such as insects, fungi, and bacteria. 3. Describe their external features.
(d) They play a great role in preventing 4. Examine the underside of one of
soil erosion by holding the soil the fronds. Describe the structure
particles together. you have observed.
(e) They contribute in the production

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