Pteridophytes are also called first vascular cryptogams or spore-bearing vascular plants. Vascular plants contain conducting system for the transport of water, minerals, and food materials like xylem and phloem tissues in plants. They include angiosperms and gymnosperms and plants that reproduce by spores—the ferns and other so-called lower vascular plants. The pteridophytes represent the oldest of vascular plants. Thus, the correct answer is ‘Pteridophyta.’