Part of a plant producing and containing male gametes
An antheridium is a
haploid structure or organ producing and containing male
gametes (called antherozoids or
sperm). The plural form is antheridia, and a structure containing one or more antheridia is called an androecium.[1] Androecium is also the collective term for the
stamens of
flowering plants.
The female counterpart to the antheridium in cryptogams is the
archegonium, and in flowering plants is the
gynoecium.
An antheridium typically consists of sterile
cells and spermatogenous
tissue. The sterile cells may form a central support structure or surround the spermatogenous tissue as a protective jacket. The spermatogenous cells give rise to
spermatids via mitotic
cell division. In some
bryophytes, the antheridium is borne on an antheridiophore, a stalk-like structure that carries the antheridium at its apex.[3]
Gallery
Oogonium (larger) and antheridium (with red centre) of the alga Chara, produced on the stem of a plant
"Moss flowers": each shoot has a cluster of antheridia, i.e., an androecium.
Sperm of the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha are produced on the upper surface of antheridiophores.
Cross-sectional micrograph of the antheridial head of Marchantia sp., showing antheridia containing spermatogenous tissue.
Antheridium (indicated by the red box) of an Equisetum sp.
See also
Hornworts have antheridia, in some cases arranged within androecia.
Microsporangia produce spores that give rise to male gametophytes.
References
^D. Christine Cargill; Karen S. Renzaglia; Juan Carlos Villarreal & R. Joel Duff (2005), "Generic concepts within hornworts: Historical review, contemporary insights and future directions", Australian Systematic Botany, 18: 7–16,
doi:
10.1071/sb04012