Division Pteridophytes: The ferns
Pteridophytes are seedless plants, but they were the first to have specialized tissues and organs. They are therefore the most primitive cormophytes, with roots, stems, and leaves, although they have neither flowers nor fruits.
Pteridophytes are vascular plants without flowers.
The most characteristic pteridophytes are the ferns, very abundant in the shady and humid areas of the forests and riverbanks. Horsetails and lycopods are also plants that are included within the pteridophytes.
They reproduce by alternation of generations:
- Sporophyte stage.
- Gametophyte stage.
Coal was formed from fern forests about 300 million years ago.