On a field trip, a student in a marine biology class collects an organism that has differentiated organs, cell walls of cellulose, and chloroplasts with chlorophyll a. Based on this description, the organism could be a brown alga, a red alga, a green alga, a charophyte recently washed into the ocean from a freshwater or brackish water source, or a land plant washed into the ocean. The presence of which of the following features would definitively identify this organism as a land plant?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The presence of embryos definitively identifies this organism as a land plant. Embryos are a unique characteristic that distinguish land plants from other photosynthetic organisms. The other options are not exclusive to land plants and can be found in other algal or charophyte species.

On a Field Trip, a Student in a Marine Biology