Ch. 8 Sec. 2 Plants Without Seeds
Nonvascular Plants
*3 major nonvascular plants:
1. Mosses
2. Liverworts
3. Hornworts
*Low-growing plants live in moist areas so they can absorb water and other
nutrients directly from their environment.
Mosses
*most diverse group of NV plants (over 10,00 species
*grow on tree trunks
Structure of a moss plant:
Rhizoids: anchor the moss
and absorb water and
nutrients from soil.
Liverworts
*grow as a thick crust on moist rocks or soil along the sides of a stream
*named after their leaves looking like a human liver
*wort means plant in old English
Hornworts
*live in moist soil with grass
*named for their hornlike structures that grow out of its sporophyte
Seedless Vascular Plants
Characteristics of Seedless Vascular Plants
*2 characteristics:
1. they have true vascular tissue
2. they do not produce seeds, but release spores.
*Unlike mosses, seedless VP can grow tall
*Like mosses, seedless VP must grow in moist areas to release their spores.
Ferns
*More than 12,000 species of ferns
*Have true stems, roots, and leaves
Fern structure:
Fronds: leaves
Horsetails
*Long, coarse, needle-like branches grow in a circle around each joint.
*In colonial times, horsetails were used for cleaning pots and pans.
Club Mosses
*Different from regular moss because Club Moss has true vascular tissue,
roots, stems, and leaves
*Grow in moist woodlands and near streams