bryophyte: Quick Facts

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Facts

Also Known As	Bryophyta

Photos and Videos

Thick green bryophyte moss covers the trunks of three oak trees in a forest, with fallen leaves on the ground.

Diagram showing the life cycle of moss, including spore release from capsules, germination into protonema, development into leafy gametophytes, fertilization of eggs by sperm, zygote formation, and growth of new sporophytes.

Green, flat thalloid liverwort Marchantia with several round gemma cups visible on its surface, growing on moist soil.

Close-up of the green, textured thallus of a liverwort plant with visible gametophytes, showing lobed, leaf-like structures typical of bryophytes.

Liverwort archegonia

Young sporophytes of tortula moss (Tortula muralis) with slender red stalks and small capsules rise above dense green leafy gametophytes.

Compare and contrast liverworts and mosses in their reproduction, water absorption, and energy generation

Why plant diversity is so important

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Topics

moss hornwort liverwort bryology plant Heirloom plant gymnosperm weed lower vascular plant parasitic plant carnivorous plant Vegetable herbaceous plant oil plant everlasting

Key People

Sullivant, William Starling

William Starling Sullivant

American botanist

Venus's-flytrap. Venus's-flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) one of the best known of the meat-eating plants. Carnivorous plant, Venus flytrap, Venus fly trap

Plants: From Cute to Carnivorous