AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Ferns are seedless, vascular plants. They contain two types of vascular tissue that are needed to move substances throughout the plant. Evolutionarily, this addition of vascular tissue to plants is what allowed ferns to grow up and out rather than just spreading along the ground.

Detailed explanation-2: -The ferns, gymnosperms, and flowering plants are all vascular plants. Because they possess vascular tissues, these plants have true stems, leaves, and roots.

Detailed explanation-3: -Ferns are considered the most advanced seedless vascular plants and display characteristics commonly observed in seed plants. Ferns form large leaves and branching roots. In contrast, whisk ferns, the psilophytes, lack both roots and leaves, which were probably lost by evolutionary reduction.

Detailed explanation-4: -Mosses and ferns fall into two types: vascular and non-vascular. Vascular means they have tubes running throughout that can carry water and nutrients. Non-vascular plants, like liverworts, do not have tubes, so they are much smaller.

Detailed explanation-5: -The vascular tissues in the more advanced ferns and “fern allies” are made up of xylem and phloem, which conduct water, nutrients, and food throughout the plant body.