Phylum Bryophyta
Non- Vascular Plants
Moss
Bryophyta means “mosslike plant”
Not really moss:
 Irish
moss (algae)
 Reindeer moss (lichen)
 Spanish moss (flowering plant)
Parts of a moss plant
Rhizoids
Leafy Shoot
Life Cycle of Moss
Life Cycle of Moss
Alternation of Generations
•Sporophyte Generation: produces spores
(asexual)
•Gametophyte Generation: produces gametes
(sexual)
Life Cycle of Moss
Gametophyte Generation
1. The top of the male gametophyte bears the
antheridia which produces sperm
2. The top of the female gametophyte has one
or more archegonia which contains the ova
3. Sperm swim from the antheridia to the
archegonia and fertilizes an ovum (zygote)
Life Cycle of Moss
Sporophyte Generation
4. Zygote grows into a stalk with a capsule which produces
spores
5. When mature the cap comes off and spores disperse
6. Spore grows when environmental conditions are right
7. First grows into a cellular filament called a protonema
8. Protonema then forms the leafy shoots and rhizoids
Life Cycle of Moss
Protonema
Moss
Moss Capsule
Liverworts
“Liver Plant”
Marchantia – a common
liverwort with a y-shaped
thallus
Have splash platforms
which look like little
umbrellas
Benefits of Mosses
• Help to replenish the soil
• Help to prevent soil erosion
• Peat moss or Sphagnum is used by
gardeners to pack plants for shipment and
in Iceland and other northern regions it is
used as fuel
• Has been used for surgical dressing