Cryptogam

A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant, in the broad sense of the word, or a plant-like organism that shares similar characteristics, such as being multicellular, Photosynthesis, and primarily immobile, that reproduces via rather than through Flower or seeds.

This broader definition can include algae, fungi, and certain bacteria (like cyanobacteria), even though they may belong to different biological kingdoms.

---

Taxonomy The name Cryptogamae () means "hidden reproduction", meaning non-seed bearing plants. Other names, such as "", "lower plants", and "spore plants" have occasionally been used.

As a group, Cryptogamae are paired with the Phanerogamae or Spermatophyta, the . At one time, the cryptogams were formally recognised as a group within the plant kingdom. In his system for classification of all known plants and animals, Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) divided the plant kingdom into 24 classes,

one of which was the "Cryptogamia". This included all plants with concealed reproductive organs. He divided Cryptogamia into four orders: Algae, Musci (), Filices (), and fungi, but it had also traditionally included , and Cyanophyta. The classification is now deprecated in Linnaean taxonomy. Cryptogams have been classified into three sub-kingdoms: Thallophyte, bryophyte, and Pteridophyte.

Not all cryptogams are treated as part of the plant kingdom today; the fungi, in particular, are a separate kingdom, more closely related to than plants, while Cyanobacteria are a phylum of bacteria. Therefore, in contemporary plant systematics, "Cryptogamae" is not a taxonomically coherent group, but is polyphyly. However, the names of all cryptogams are regulated by the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.

---

In human culture

An story: it is said that during World War II, the British Government Code and Cypher School recruited Geoffrey Tandy, a marine biologist expert in cryptogams, to Station X, Bletchley Park, when someone confused these with . However, the story is a myth; though Tandy did indeed work at Bletchley, he was not recruited by mistake. At the time the field of cryptography was very new, and so it was typical to hire those with education and expertise in other fields.

---

External links

Post Comment