Information Sheet: Non-Vascular
Plants
You have probably seen plenty of moss growing around your
home or school. They especially like shady, damp places. Mosses
are a type of non-vascular plant that differs from vascular plants in a
lot of ways.
Non-vascular plants are the simplest plants found on land. The
category of non-vascular plants includes Bryophyta, which includes
mosses, hornworts, and liverworts. They are the successor of the
green algae division of plants. Below are some more characteristics
of non-vascular plants.
Absence of Vascular Tissues
One of the most important characteristics of non-vascular
plants is the absence of vascular tissues. Non-vascular plants do not
have the vascular tissues known as xylem and phloem. They do not
have an internal water transport system that is found in vascular
plants. Though these non-vascular plants do have stem-like and leaflike structure, they lack true roots, stems, or leaves. As they do not
have any vascular tissue, they cannot retain water for a long time or
transport it to other parts of the plant.
Habitat
Moss can be seen on moist places such as bogs and swamps
as they absorb water from their surroundings. Like all plants, they
need water to survive and they have to absorb it directly from the
surrounding air or any other nearby resource. They distribute water to
other parts by using slow means such as capillary action, diffusion,
and cytoplasmic streaming.
Size
Non-vascular plants are always small in size. As they lack the woody
tissues that are required to support a plant on land they can only
reach a height of a few centimeters. Moreover, they cannot transport
Information taken from: http://www.brighthubeducation.com/science-homework-help/79105-characteristics-of-nonvascular-plants/
water and food very far due to lack of vascular tissues. They transfer
water, organic food, and minerals from the environment to the interior
of the gametophyte through cell-to-cell osmosis.
Obtaining Energy
Like other plants, nonvascular plants also gain energy by the
process of photosynthesis. This process takes place in the upper
parts of these plants in leaf-like and stem-like appendages.
Summary
 Do not produce seeds, flowers, or fruits
 Do not have the vascular tissues xylem and phloem
 Are multi-celled; cell walls composed of cellulose
 Do not have true roots, stems, and leaves.
 Depend on water for reproduction.
 Are smaller in size.
 Live in dark and damp places.
 Transport water and other nutrients through cell-to-cell
osmosis
Information taken from: http://www.brighthubeducation.com/science-homework-help/79105-characteristics-of-nonvascular-plants/