380 STRUCTURE AND LIFE HISTORIES 



sterile region with foliage-leaves, and the restriction of the 

 sporophylls to the apices of the branches is of very con- 

 siderable advantage, making possible an abundant supply 

 of food to a vast number of spores. The branching of 

 L. Selago is dichotomous, and the sporangia are borne 

 on the upper surfaces of the sporophylls, near their bases. 



339. The Gametophyte. — The spores of Lycopods are 

 alike in size (isospores), and on germination produce 

 fleshy prothallia, bearing both antheridia and archegonia 

 (monoecious), and partially saprophytic in habit. They 

 commonly have a filamentous fungus growing parasitic- 

 ally within their tissues. The reproductive organs occur 

 at the upper end, surrounded with sterile hairs {para- 

 physes). The whole of the antheridia, and the venters of 

 the archegonia are imbedded in the vegetative tissue. 

 The gametophyte may grow more or less completely im- 

 bedded in the soil, but when growing on the surface chloro- 

 phyll is formed, and photosynthesis may take place. Its 

 lower end bears numerous rhizoids. 



340. The Embryo. — After an ^gg is fertilized it begins 

 at once to divide and soon develops an embryo. Of the 

 two cells resulting from the first division of the fertilized 

 egg, the lower one serves as a suspensor, while the other 

 becomes the ancestor of all the cells of the embryo. The 

 suspensor serves to push the embryo down into the nour- 

 ishing tissue of the prothallus. The young embryo 

 (Fig. 275) soon becomes differentiated into two distinct 

 regions— the foot (not shown in the figure), and the shoot. 

 As in the mosses and true ferns, the foot serves to absorb 

 nourishment from the gametophyte. But the embryo is 

 dependent upon the gametophyte for only a relatively 

 brief period — shorter than in the mosses and true ferns. 



