Bryophyte Characteristics
• No roots
– Rhizoids are similar to
holdfasts
Bryophytes
Lab 10
Nonvascular Plants
• No vascular system
– Nutrients absorbed
through leaf
– Can’t grow tall
• Water needed for
fertilization
– Use sperm, not pollen
Bryophyte Characteristics
• Haploid gametophyte
– Dominate life form
– Green, photosynthesizing
• Diploid sporophyte
– Short-lived
– Depends on gametophyte for nutrients
Gametophyte
Plant Life Cycle
Gametangium
1N
1N
Archegonium
egg
Antheridium
Zygote
2N
sperm
Sporophyte
2N
Gametophyte Gametophyte (1N)
(♀)
(♂)
1N
Spore
Spore
Spore
Spore
Sporophyte
Syngamy
Meiosis
Sporocyte
2N
Spororangium
2N
1
Phylum Hepaticophyta Characteristics
Hepaticophyta Basic Anatomy
• Thallose or Leafy morphology
Archengoniophore
– Rhizoids are unicellular strands (similar to
Zygomycota or an algal holdfast)
• Asexual reproduction with Gemmae or
fragmentation
• Sexual reproduction
Thallus
Thallus Gemmae
Gemmae
Gemmae
– Archegonia (♀)– (ovary)
– Antheridia (♂)– (testes)
• Dispersal using elators
Hepaticophyta Sexual Reproduction
Hepaticophyta Life Cycle
Antheridiophore
Archegoniophore
2
Leafy Moss vs Liverworts
Phylum Bryophyta
• Rhizoids are
multicellular
• Dispersal via
operculum &
peristome
Moss leaves spiral up gametophyte
Liverworts lie in 2 or 3 rows
• Leaves generally
spirally arranged
Moss have longer rhizoids
Anatomy & Reproduction
Moss Sporophytes
Developing
sporophytes
3
Peristome
Operculum
Calyptra
Operculum
4