Summarizing Bryophytes

Summary

Seedless nonvascular plants are small, having the gametophyte as the dominant stage of the lifecycle. Without a vascular system and roots, they absorb water and nutrients on all their exposed surfaces. Collectively known as bryophytes, the three main groups include the liverworts, the hornworts, and the mosses. Liverworts are the most primitive plants and are closely related to the first land plants. Hornworts developed stomata and possess a single chloroplast per cell. Mosses have simple conductive cells and are attached to the substrate by rhizoids. They colonize harsh habitats and can regain moisture after drying out. The moss sporangium is a complex structure that allows release of spores away from the parent plant.

Glossary

capsule

case of the sporangium in mosses

gemma

(plural, gemmae) leaf fragment that spreads for asexual reproduction

hornworts

group of non-vascular plants in which stomata appear

liverworts

most primitive group of the non-vascular plants

mosses

group of bryophytes in which a primitive conductive system appears

peristome

tissue that surrounds the opening of the capsule and allows periodic release of spores

protonema

tangle of single celled filaments that forms from the haploid spore

rhizoids

thin filaments that anchor the plant to the substrate

seta

stalk that supports the capsule in mosses