– **Fungi:**
– Some phyla of fungi use sporangium in asexual reproduction.
– Sporangium forms on sporangiophore and contains haploid nuclei and cytoplasm.
– Spores are formed in sporangiophore and dispersed via wind during asexual reproduction.
– Zygomycota fungi form zygosporangium during sexual reproduction.
– Zygosporangium undergoes meiosis to produce a sporangium when conditions improve.
– **Land Plants:**
– Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts have unbranched sporophytes producing sporangia.
– Most non-vascular plants and many lycophytes are homosporous.
– Some lycophytes and ferns are heterosporous, producing microspores and megaspores.
– Ferns have sporangia on the underside of leaves, forming clusters called sori.
– Seed plants have sporangia in strobili, flowers, or ovules.
– **Eusporangia and Leptosporangia:**
– Leptosporangia are found in leptosporangiate ferns with around 64 spores.
– Eusporangia are characteristic of other vascular plants, with multi-layered walls.
– Eusporangia are larger and can contain more spores compared to leptosporangia.
– **Synangium:**
– Synangium is a cluster of fused sporangia.
– It is prominent in Psilotum and Marattiaceae species.
– **Internal Structures:**
– Columella is a sterile structure supporting the sporangium in some species.
– Columella in fungi may be branched or unbranched.
– Secotium species have a simple columella, while Gymnoglossum species have a branched one.
– In some Geastrum species, the columella extends into the spore mass.
– **See Also:**
– Archegonium
– Antheridium
– Spore formation
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2018) |
A sporangium (from Late Latin, from Ancient Greek σπορά (sporá) 'seed', and ἀγγεῖον (angeîon) 'vessel'); pl.: sporangia) is an enclosure in which spores are formed. It can be composed of a single cell or can be multicellular. Virtually all plants, fungi, and many other lineages form sporangia at some point in their life cycle. Sporangia can produce spores by mitosis, but in nearly all land plants and many fungi, sporangia are the site of meiosis and produce genetically distinct haploid spores.
