Samantha Jorge
Sofia Vignolo
This is a picture of a type of
bryophytes plant.
What are Bryophytes?
 Bryophytes are nonvascular plants: they
have tissues and enclosed reproductive
systems, but they lack vascular tissue that
circulates liquids.
 They have life cycles the depend on water for
reproduction.
 They neither have flowers nor produce
seeds, reproducing via spores.
Groups of Bryophytes
Mosses
 Mosses are small, soft plants that are usually 1-10
centimeter tall, though some species can be much
larger.
 They typically grow close together in moist or shady
areas. They do not contain flowers or seeds.
 There are approximately 12,000 species of moss
classified in the Bryophyta.
Groups of Bryophytes (cont.)
Liverworts
 Liverworts are typically, small; ranging from 2-20
millimeters wide.
 However, certain species may cover large patches of
ground, rocks, trees or any other reasonably firm
substrate on which they occur.
 They are distributed globally in almost every available
habitat, most often in humid locations, although there
are desert and arctic species as well.
Groups of Bryophytes (cont.)
Hornworts
 Hornworts are a group of non-vascular plants.
 Hornworts may be found worldwide, though
they tend to grow only in places that are damp
or humid.
 Some species grow in large numbers as tiny
weeds in the soil of gardens and cultivated
fields.
Mosses
Liverworts
Hornworts
Life Cycle of Bryophytes
 In bryophytes, the gametophyte is the dominant,
recognizable stage of the life cycle and is the stage
that carries out most of the plant’s photosynthesis.
 Dispersal in bryophytes is via spores; they neither
have flowers nor produce seeds. Bryophytes do
produce gametes that fuse to form a zygote, which
in turn develops into an embryo, but this is not
contained in a seed as in gymnosperms and
angiosperms.
Life Cycle of Bryophytes (cont.)
Dependence on Water:
 For fertilization to occur, the sperm of a bryophyte
must swim to an egg.
 Sometimes raindrops can splash sperm from one
plant to another.
 Because of this limit to reproduction, bryophytes
must live in habitats where water is available.
Life Cycle of a Bryophyte
Human Use of Mosses
 Humans use some types moss as a natural sponge,
since it absorbs water .
 Peat moss can be cut from the ground and then
burned as a fuel.
 Peat moss is also used for gardening; gardeners add
peat moss to the soil so it can improve the soil’s ability
to retain water.
 Peat moss has a low pH, so when affected to the soil it
increases the soil’s acidity.