Gemmae & Asexual Reproduction in Liverworts — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2025The liverworts grow usually in moist, shady habitats such as banks of streams, marshy ground, damp soil, bark of trees and deep in the woods. The plant body of a liverwort is thalloid, e.g., Marchantia. The thallus is dorsiventral and closely appressed to the substrate. The leafy members have tiny leaf-like appendages in two rows on the stem-like structures. Asexual reproduction takes place by fragmentation of thalli, or by the formation of specialised structures called gemmae (sing. gemma). Gemmae are green, multicellular, asexual buds, which develop in small receptacles called gemma cups located on the thalli. The gemmae become detached from the parent body and germinate to form new individuals. During sexual reproduction, male and female sex
NTA tests students on gemmae as specialized asexual reproductive structures in liverworts that develop inside gemma cups on the thallus. The common mistake is confusing gemmae with spores or thinking they form during sexual reproduction—gemmae are strictly asexual buds. Another trap is forgetting that gemmae are multicellular and green, containing all genetic material to form new identical individuals. Remember: gemmae are found in cup-shaped structures (gemma cups), detach easily, and each one germinates independently to form a clone of the parent. This concept tests understanding of alternative reproduction strategies in bryophytes, crucial for Plant Kingdom classification.
This paragraph was tested 2 times in NEET.
In bryophytes, the gemmae help in which one of the following?
Gemmae are present in:
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