Question

‘Amphibians’ of the plant kingdom are _______.
A. Thallophyta
B. Bryophyta
C. Lichens
D. Rhodophyta

Answer 1

The kingdom plantae includes algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms. They live in a wide range of habitats like land, sea shore and in fresh water. They are mostly autotrophic in nature.

Complete answer: Thallophyta includes algae and fungi which thallus like body organization i.e. there is no differentiation of plant body into stem, roots and leaves.
Algae and fungi live together in symbiotic association in lichens. The algae produce food by photosynthesis while the fungi obtain water and minerals and provide attachment to the lichens.
Red algae or Rhodophyta include about 5,000 species growing mainly in the marine habitats upto depth of 30-90 meters. Only a few genera inhabit fresh waters. They are eukaryotic and their cell wall is made up of cellulose, pectin compounds, and certain mucopolysaccharides called phycocolloids like agar, carrageenan, and funori.
Bryophytes usually grow in moist and shady places, the plants grow densely together and form green carpets or mats on damp soil, rocks, walls, barks of trees, and decaying logs on trees. Some of the bryophytes grow in the diverse habitats such as aquatic, epiphytes, saprophytes, in dry habitats such as dry heaths, etc.
The bryophytes are basically terrestrial plants but for completing their life cycle, they require the presence of water. They require water for various activities like dehiscence of antheridia, liberation of antherozoids from antheridia to archegonia, opening of the archegonial neck, the movement of antherozoids into the archegonial neck. Thus due to the peculiar type of their habitats, they are regarded as the “the amphibians of the plant kingdom”.
So, the correct answer is “Option B”.

Note: The life cycle of plants consist of alternating haploid gametophyte and diploid sporophyte generations. The two generations are dissimilar in morphology and one is dominant over the other.