298 



COLLEGE BOTANY 



neck usually slightly curved. The antheridia are also borne 

 on the under surface and are usually' more or less spherical. The 

 fertilization occurs in the same manner as in the Bryophytes, and 

 the resulting fertilized cell is the young Sporophyte, which has 

 a history quite different from that of the Bryophytes. 



The young Sporophyte gives rise to four groups of cells 

 known as the foot, rudimentary leaf, stem and root. The foot is 



FIG. 143. A fern glade. 



a temporary organ through which the young Sporophyte receives 

 its nourishment. When the young Sporophyte becomes estab- 

 lished the foot is of no further use and the prothallium or 

 Gametophyte generation disintegrates. The first root enters the 

 soil, the first leaf grows upward and the stem assumes its charac- 

 teristic form, structure and function. Therefore, we have a 

 Sporophyte generation with true root, stem and leaf organs 

 which is independent of the small Gametophyte through which it 

 came into existence. We will not attempt to study the root and 



