PTERIDOPHYTES

Pteridophytes or Pteridophyta, in the broad interpretation of

the term (or sensu lato), are vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce and disperse via spores. Because

they produce neither flowers nor seeds, they are referred to as

cryptogams. The group includes ferns, horsetails, clubmosses, spikemosses and quillworts. These do not form a

monophyletic group, because ferns and horsetails are more closely related to seed plants than to lycophytes (clubmosses,

spikemosses and quillworts). Therefore, pteridophytes are no

longer considered to form a valid taxon, but the term is still used as an informal way to refer to ferns (monilophytes) and

lycophytes, and some recent authors have used the term to refer strictly to the monilophytes.