How do some mosses conduct water without vascular tissue?

Although mosses are classified as nonvascular plants and lack the specialized xylem and phloem found in vascular plants, they utilize several methods to conduct and retain water.1

• Surface Conduction: Most mosses absorb water and dissolved minerals directly across the surface of the gametophore. This process is facilitated by the overlapping arrangement of their leaves, the presence of rhizoids (rootlike structures), and capillary spaces among these structures, which help retain water.23
• Internal Conducting Strands: Some larger mosses, particularly those in the subclass Polytrichidae, possess a central core of specialized elongated, thick-walled cells called hydroids. These cells are involved in internal water conduction and are considered analogous to the xylem of vascular plants, though they lack lignin.13
• Leptoids: In species with hydroids, these water-conducting cells are often surrounded by layers of living cells known as leptoids, which assist in the conduction of sugars and other organic substances.3

While these internal systems exist, the movement of fluid within mosses is generally very slow compared to the rapid, long-distance transport seen in vascular plants.42