A stele is the central cylinder or core of vascular tissue in higher plants and Pteridophytes. It consists of the xylem, phloem, pericycle, medullary rays, and pith if present. The term stele has been derived from a Greek word meaning rod or column. Van Tieghem and Douliot (1886) introduced this …

The word cryptogams is a synthesis of two Greek terms kruptos meaning ‘hidden’ and gamos meaning ‘wedded’. This single term encompasses all plants that reproduce by means of spores and, do not produce seeds. The algae, fungi, bryophytes and pteridophytes are all cryptogams. The pteridophyta are treated as vascular cryptogams …

The term Pteridophyta was first coined by Haeckel. Eichler (1883) divided the plant kingdom into Cryptogamia and Phanerogamia. The Cryptogamia was further divided into Thallophyta. Bryophyta and Pteridophyta. Engler (1909) included the Bryophyta and Pteridophyta under Embryophyta. Due to discovery of the fossil plants, the classification of Pteridophytes has undergone …