BRYOPHYTES
BRYOPHYTES
 Oldest
land plants on earth and have
been around for 400 million years or
more
 They do not have true vascular tissue
and are therefore non-vascular plants
 Do not have roots, but have
rhizoids, which are relatively
simple, sometimes multicellular filaments
of thin-walled cells that extend from the
photosynthetic tissue into the soil
BRYOPHYTES
 Composed
of haploid cells, containing
only one set of chromosomes
 Have a two-stage life cycle:
gametophyte and sporophyte
 There are about 2,000 species of
bryophytes
 Divided into three: moss, liverworts, and
hornworts
MOSSES
Bryophyta
MOSSES
 Small,
soft plants that are usually 1-10
cm tall
 Typically grow close together in moist or
shady areas
 Some mosses are found on rocks and in
arid locations
 Flowerless and seedless
LIVERWORTS
Hepaticophyta
LIVERWORTS
 Flowerless,
spore-producing plant – with
the spores producing in small capsules
 Typically small; ranging from 2-20 mm
wide with individual plants less than 10
cm long
 Certain species may cover large
patches of ground, rocks, trees, or any
other reasonably firm substance on
which they occur
LIVERWORTS

The most familiar liverworts consist of a
prostrate, flattened, ribbon-like or
branching structure called
a thallus (plant body); these liverworts
are termed thallose liverworts.
However, most liverworts produce
flattened stems with overlapping scales
or leaves in two or more ranks, the
middle rank is often conspicuously
different from the outer ranks; these are
called leafy liverworts or scale liverworts.
LIVERWORTS
 Thallose
liverwort,
Lunularia
cruciata
LIVERWORTS
 Leafy
liverwort,
Plagiochilla
asplenioide
s
LIVERWORTS
 In
ancient times, it was believed that it
could cure diseases of the liver
 Reduces erosion along streambanks
HORNWORTS
Anthocerophyta
HORNWORTS
a flowerless, spore-producing plant with the spores typically produced in a
tapering, horn-like or needle-like
capsule which develops from a flattish,
green sheet
 Only 100 species identifies
