Q.Do you agree with the statement 'Bryophytes need water for fertilization' ? Justify your answer.

Yes, this statement is true: bryophytes require external water for fertilisation because their sperm cells are flagellated and must physically swim to the egg.

Bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) reproduce sexually by producing gametes in specialised multicellular sex organs: the antheridium, which produces numerous motile male gametes called antherozoids (each bearing flagella for swimming), and the archegonium, which produces a single non-motile female gamete, the egg (ovum), retained within its flask-shaped structure.

At fertilisation, the antherozoids released from the antheridium must swim through a thin film of external water (such as rain, dew, or moisture on the plant surface) to reach the neck of the archegonium and travel down it to fuse with the egg. This is only possible because antherozoids are flagellated, motile cells - exactly like sperm in aquatic animals.

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