Embryophyte

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The embryophytes () are plants of the clade Embryophyta (), also known as Plantae sensu strictissimo (, "plant in the strictest sense") or land plants. They are complex multicellular eukaryotes with haplodiplontic life cycles. All have specialized reproductive organs called sporangia, and reproduce sexually via alternation of generations using spores or seeds. The name "embryophyte" derives from their innovative characteristic of nurturing the embryonic sporophytes within the tissues of the parent gametophytes during the early stages of multicellular development. They are the dominant group of autotrophs that make up the vegetation on Earth's terrestrial and wetland ecosystems, and represent the quintessential concept of "plants" most familiar to the common knowledge. The study of embryophytes is called phytology. Embryophytes consist of the relatively species-poor non-vascular plants and the much more species-rich vascular plants (tracheophytes). The former are soft-bodied groundcovers...

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