Phylum Bryophyta

Non- Vascular Plants

Moss
Bryophyta means mosslike plant

Not really moss:

Irish

moss (algae)
Reindeer moss (lichen)
Spanish moss (flowering plant)

Parts of a moss plant

Rhizoids

Leafy Shoot

Life Cycle of Moss

Life Cycle of Moss

Alternation of Generations
Sporophyte Generation: produces spores
(asexual)
Gametophyte Generation: produces gametes
(sexual)

Life Cycle of Moss

Gametophyte Generation
1. The top of the male gametophyte bears the
antheridia which produces sperm
2. The top of the female gametophyte has one
or more archegonia which contains the ova
3. Sperm swim from the antheridia to the
archegonia and fertilizes an ovum (zygote)

Life Cycle of Moss

Sporophyte Generation
4. Zygote grows into a stalk with a capsule which produces
spores
5. When mature the cap comes off and spores disperse
6. Spore grows when environmental conditions are right
7. First grows into a cellular filament called a protonema
8. Protonema then forms the leafy shoots and rhizoids

Life Cycle of Moss

Protonema

Moss

Moss Capsule

Liverworts
Liver Plant

Marchantia a common
liverwort with a y-shaped
thallus
Have splash platforms
which look like little
umbrellas

Benefits of Mosses
Help to replenish the soil
Help to prevent soil erosion
Peat moss or Sphagnum is used by
gardeners to pack plants for shipment and
in Iceland and other northern regions it is
used as fuel
Has been used for surgical dressing