Bio430
These are the “spore plants” or “vascular cryptogams.” As shown in the diagram above, this is an artificial (non monophyletic) group rather than a natural (monophyletic) group because it includes two sets of taxa that together do not form an exclusive clade. The Lycophytes represent the earliest surviving vascular plants and include just three families. The monilophytes include ferns and close relatives that have historically been classified in their own division (e.g., Equisetophyta and Psilophyta) but are now recognized as being much closer to the true ferns than earlier thought. The monilophyte families with photo galleries here include more than those covered in class. The spermatophyte clade in the diagram above refers to the seed plants, including both gymnosperms and angiosperms.
Non-seed Plants
Lycophyte&MonilophyteFamilies
