Big Bend National Park in Texas Is Mostly Chihuahuan Desert

question 72

Multiple Choice

Big Bend National Park in Texas is mostly Chihuahuan desert, where rainfall averages about 10 inches per year. Yet, it is not uncommon when hiking in this bone-dry desert to encounter mosses and ferns. One such plant is called "flower of stone." It is not a flowering plant, nor does it produce seeds. Under arid conditions, its leaflike structures curl up. However, when it rains, it unfurls its leaves, which form a bright green rosette on the desert floor. Consequently, it is sometimes called the "resurrection plant." At first glance, it could be a fern, a true moss, or a spike moss.
-Upon closer inspection of the leaves of flower of stone, one can observe tiny, cone-like structures. Each cone-like structure emits spores of two different sizes. Based on this information, which of the following can be properly inferred about flower of stone?
1) It is heterosporous.
2) It is a fern.
3) The cone-like structures are sori.
4) It is a lycophyte.
5) It has separate male and female gametophytes.

• A) 1 and 5
• B) 2 and 3
• C) 1, 2, and 3
• D) 1, 4, and 5
• E) 1, 2, 3, and 5

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