The Bryophytes

Mosses, Liverworts, & Hornworts

Chapter 22
 Evolution of Land Plants
• Land plants evolved from
green algae
– Evidences:
• Share chemical & metabolic
traits
• Same photosynthetic
pigments
• Store excess carbohydrates as
starch
• Cellulose is a major
component of both cell walls
• The most direct ancestors
of plants are the
Charophytes “stoneworts”
 Adaptations for Life on Land
• Cuticle
– Waxy covering over the
epidermis of aerial plant parts
– Prevents desiccation “water
loss”
• Stomata
– Small pore in the plant
epidermis
– Allows gas exchange for
photosynthesis
The Plant Life Cycle
Alternation of Generations
• Haploid (gametophyte)
stage alternates with a
diploid (sporophyte) stage
in the life cycle
 Plant Reproduction
• Gametangia – Plant sex organs
– Consists of 2 parts:
• A protective outer layer of sterile
(non-reproductive) cells
• Gametes – sperm or egg cells.

• Male Gametangia =
Antheridium
– Bears numerous sperm cells
• Female Gametangia =
Archegonium
– Bears a single egg cell
 Moss Gametangia
Antheridium – Male Archegonium – Female
 4 Main Groups of Plants
1. Bryophytes – Nonvascular; spores
– Mosses
– Stoneworts
– Liverworts
2. Seedless vascular plants; spores
– Club Mosses
– Ferns, whisk ferns, and horsetails
3. Gymnosperms; seeds
– Conifers
– Cycads
– Ginkgoes
– Gnetophytes
4. Angiosperms “Flowering plants”; seeds
– Monocots
– Eudicots
 Quiz!
• What is vascular tissue?

• What are the two types of tissue that make up

the vascular tissue system?

• What does each tissue do?

 Bryophytes
• “moss plant”
• Nonvascular plants
– Cannot extensively transport water,
sugar, and minerals
– Rely on diffusion and osmosis to
obtain water and dissolved
nutrients
– Typically small
• Some have a cuticle
• Some absorb water directly
through leaf surfaces
• Most require moist environments
to reproduce
 Bryphytes
• 3 Phyla of Bryophytes
1. Phylum Bryophyta: Mosses
2. Phylum Hepatophyta: Liverworts
3. Phylum Anthocerophyta: Hornworts
• All are Gametophyte dominant
– Spend most of their life cycle in the gametophyte
stage
 Mosses
• Location: soil, rocks, tree bark
• Help form soil
• Colonize rocky sites that were previously colonized by lichens
• Prevent soil erosion
– Grow packed together in dense colonies
• The Moss Body
– Thallus – Body structure
– Rhizoids – hair-like absorptive structures
• Do not have true roots, stems, or leaves
• Many mosses have separate sexes: male plants and female
plants
• The gametophyte generation is dominant
Lifecycle of Mosses: Read p. 435

A filament of
haploid cells that
grows from a spore
 Bryophytes
Gametophyte Generation Sporophyte Generation
 Liverworts
• Thallus
– A body that lacks roots, stems, or
leaves
– Liverworts get their name from
their liver shaped thallus
• Gemmae
– Asexual reproductive structure of
liverworts
– Small balls of tissue
– Borne in a saucer-shaped
structure – gemmae cup
 Hornworts
– Location: fields &
roadsides
– Thalloids - 1-2 cm
– Sporophyte generations
form hornlike
projections out of the
gametophyte thallus
Hornworts