Pteridophyte Sporophyte Structure — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2020Strobili or cones are found in:
Strobili or cones are found in:
Answer & NCERT explanation
Correct answer: B — Equisetum
Strobili (cones) are reproductive structures found in pteridophytes like Equisetum (horsetails). According to NCERT, strobili contain sporangia that produce spores. Marchantia is a liverwort with different reproductive structures, Salvinia and Pteris are ferns that don't have distinct strobili. Equisetum is unique among the options for having terminal strobili on fertile shoots.
Read more NCERT concept on the PYQ
You may recall that in bryophytes the dominant phase in the life cycle is the gametophytic plant body. However, in pteridophytes, the main plant body is a sporophyte which is differentiated into true root, stem and leaves. These organs possess well-differentiated vascular tissues. The leaves in pteridophyta are small (microphylls) as in Selaginella or large (macrophylls) as in ferns. The sporophytes bear sporangia that are subtended by leaf-like appendages called sporophylls. In some cases sporophylls may form distinct compact structures called strobili or cones (Selaginella, Equisetum). The sporangia produce spores by meiosis in spore mother cells. The spores germinate to give rise to inconspicuous, small but multicellular,
NTA tests whether students understand that pteridophytes have a dominant sporophytic plant body with true roots, stems, and leaves, unlike bryophytes where gametophyte is dominant. The key concept is that sporophylls (fertile leaves) can form specialized structures called strobili or cones, especially in Selaginella and Equisetum. Students often confuse sporophylls with regular leaves or forget that strobili are compact reproductive structures. Remember: sporophylls are specialized leaves bearing sporangia, and when clustered together, they create the cone-like strobilus structure. This distinction between vegetative and reproductive leaf modifications is crucial for understanding pteridophyte reproduction and anatomy.
What does NCERT say about You may recall that?
Has this concept appeared in NEET?
Which chapter is this from?
Through deep analysis of NEET and NTA, 88 of 90 questions from the NEET 2026 paper were matched straight from the MedicNEET Biology question bank.
88/90MedicNEET's Biology question bank is built from the same NCERT lines NTA picks repeatedly. Not random MCQs — questions crafted exactly like NTA crafts them.