Question

Marchantia is ___________________.
A) Bryophyta
B) Pteridophyta
C) Animalia
D) Thallophyta

Answer 1

Marchantia is a genus in the family Marchantiaceae of the orderMarchantiales, a group of liverworts. Their body is divided into two layers: The upper layer is photosynthetic and the lower layer is for storage.

Complete answer:
Let us analyse each option to find out the correct answer.
Option A: Bryophyta is the division of green plants. The characteristics feature of a bryophyte is that it does not have true vascular tissue. They do not have roots but have crude stems and leaves. They possess rhizoids instead of roots which helps the plant to anchor to the surface. Marchantia is a Bryophyte. These are simple plants without roots or vascular systems. Therefore, this is the correct option.
Option B: Pteridophyta includes plants that have a vascular system and reproduce through spores. They have a well-differentiated plant body into root, stem, and leaves. They have a vascular system for the conduction of water and other substances. Examples are Selaginella, Equisetum, Pteris, etc. Therefore, this is an incorrect option.
Option C: Animalia is a group that consists of eukaryotic, multicellular organisms that are heterotrophic in nature. Therefore, this is an incorrect option.
Option D: Thallophytes lack a well-differentiated body structure and the plant body is thallus-like. It includes plants with primitive and simple body structure. The plant body is thallus, they may be filamentous, colonial, branched, or unbranched. Examples of thallophytes are green algae, red algae, and brown algae. Therefore, this is an incorrect option.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note: It is to be noted that Marchantia recently has been assigned their own plant division, Marchantiophyta. The characteristics of Marchantia are,
i) The thallus has a cup like structure known as gemma cups which are used for asexual reproduction.
ii) They are generally found in moist and shady places.
iii) The thallus is flat and dorsiventral.