1 84 



MORPHOLOG Y. 



the sexual phase of the plant (gametophyte) was the prominent one, 

 and consisted of either a thallus or a leafy axis, but in either case it bore the 

 sexual organs and led an independent existence ; that is it was capable of ob- 

 taining its nourishment fi-om the soil or water by means of organs of absorp- 

 tion belonging to itself, and it also performed the ofSce of carbon conversion. 

 376. The spore-bearing phase (sporophyte) of the liverworts and mosses, 

 on the other hand, is quite small as compared with the sexual stage, and it is 



s> 



.:f 



~ii 



Fig. 229. 



Young embryo of fern (Adiantiim concinnum) in enlarged venter of the archegonium. S, 

 stem ; L^ first leaf or cotyledon ; 7?, root ; F^ foot. 



completely dependent on the sexual stage for its nourishment, remaining at- 

 tached permanently thr(juj,'Iiout all its development, by means of the organ 

 called a foot, and it dies after the spores are matm-e. 



377. Now in the ferns we see several striking differences. In the first 

 place, as we have already observed, the spurt- -bearing phase (sporophyte) of 



