Title: Plant Classification: Bryophytes | SparkNotes
Headings: Plant Classification
Plant Classification
Bryophytes
Mosses
Liverworts

Content: Bryophytes are dependent upon the moisture in their surroundings for both reproduction and fluid transport. The flagellated male gametes of bryophytes, like those of their aquatic ancestors, rely on water to help them move toward female gametes. Additionally, because they lack the efficient system of internal fluid transport found in tracheophytes, bryophytes require environmental moisture to ensure that all parts of the plant remain nourished. Like all plants, the bryophyte life cycle goes through both haploid (gametophyte) and diploid (sporophyte) stages. The haploid gametophyte comprises the main plant (the green moss or liverwort), while the diploid sporophyte is much smaller and is attached to the gametophyte. The haploid stage, in which a multicellular haploid gametophyte develops from a spore and produces haploid gametes, is the dominant stage in the bryophyte life cycle. This stands in direct contrast to the tracheophyte life cycle, in which the diploid stage is dominant. For more information about the life cycles of bryophytes and tracheophytes, see Alternation of Generations. Mosses
Together, mosses and liverworts comprise most of the phylum Bryophyta. Each moss sporophyte consists of a foot, stalk, and sporangium-containing capsule that extends outward from the "leafy" gametophyte plant.