POLYTRICHUM--HAIRY-CAP MOSS GAMETOPHYTES, MALE REPRODUCTIVE HEADS WITH LEAFY SPLASH CUPS - Photos

POLYTRICHUM--HAIRY-CAP MOSS GAMETOPHYTES, MALE REPRODUCTIVE HEADS WITH LEAFY SPLASH CUPS. Polytrichum is a common moss, a genus with several species. Earlier in development splash cups were formed with ANTHERIDIA that produce sperm. The splash cups were more defined that these leafy splash cups and likely have released sperm some time earlier. Raindrops that hit the splash cups can disperse the sperm sometimes as much as one meter from the plant. Sperm that reach Archegonia in Female Plants can fertilize eggs, and cause the development of the sporophyte generation that produces spores--alternation of generation. West Michigan, deciduous forest.