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Fern Allies
Fern-allies
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This
section covers the other much more obscure, but evolutionary important,
divisions of the 'fern allies'.
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These plants have a long fossil
record, and are usually thought of as the most primitive of all vascular
plants.
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They differ from ferns by
lacking the large leaf-like fronds, and by the fact that the spore-containing
sporangia are found on the terminal ends of the leaf rather than on the
underside, as in most fern species (Jackes and Cairns 2001).
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Back in the Carboniferous
period, even before the dinosaurs, some species in these groups grew as large
as trees, and often comprised the dominant vegetation.
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Today they are found all over
the world, but only as small obscure species.
Script:
Courtesy of Damon
Ramsey BSc.(Zool)
Biologist Guide
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Tassel
