A biology student hiking in a forest happens upon an erect, 15-cm-tall plant that bears microphylls and a strobilus at its tallest point. When disturbed, the cone emits a dense cloud of brownish dust. A pocket magnifying glass reveals the dust to be composed of tiny spheres with a high oil content. This student has probably found a/an .A) immature pine tree. B) bryophyte sporophyte. C) fern sporophyte. D) horsetail gametophyte. E) lycophyte sporophyte.

Answer is option "E"

Explanation:

The lycophytes represent a wide scope of wiped out and living plants that have contributed significant information on transformative patterns in crude vascular plants. The most punctual lycophytes included Baragwanathia and Protolepidodendron, dating from the early Devonian Period. Both were little herbaceous plants. During the Carboniferous Period, which followed (starting around 360 million years back), the treelike types of the Lepidodendrales showed up.  Throughout the years, fossil pieces of lepidodendronic plants have been found and relegated by taxonomists to supposed structure genera, or organ genera: Lepidophyllum for isolates leaf fossils, Lepidostrobus for fossil strobili. These structure genera are presently perceived as parts of one principle fossil family assigned Lepidodendron. Some different lycophytes coinciding with the tree lycophytes were little herbaceous plants that took after the current Lycopodium and Selaginella species.Hence, the right answer is option E "lycophyte sporophyte"