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Headings: Bryophytes (Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts)
Bryophytes (Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts)
What Is a Bryophyte?
Characteristics of Bryophytes
Bryophyte Nutrition
Water-Absorbing Leaves
Growth Cycles Tied to Water Availability
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Spore Develops into the Gametophyte
Gametophyte Releases Gametes
Sporophyte Releases Spores
Bryophyte Evolution & Classification
Mosses (Bryophyta)
Growth Pattern
Habitat
Distribution and Diversity
Life Cycle Differences
Examples of Moss
Liverworts
Growth patterns
Distribution and Diversity
Habitat
Life Cycle Differences
Examples of Liverworts
Hornworts
Growth Pattern
Distribution and Diversity
Habitat
Examples of Hornworts
Ecological Impact
Families in Bryophytes

Content: Life Cycle and Reproduction
The bryophyte life cycle involves two distinct stages or an alternation of generations, each with a different physical form. These are the sporophyte and gametophyte generations. Each of these stages is named for what they produce. For example, the sporophyte generation produces the spores that develop into new plants. On the other hand, the gametophyte generation is the adult plant that produces the gametes, or haploid cells, that fuse together to form the viable spore. Spore Develops into the Gametophyte
First, a spore germinates to produce the protonema which is analogous to a seedling in a flowering plant. The small, threadlike protonema develops into the adult gametophyte stage which is characterized as the more elaborate, leafy stage of the plant’s life cycle. Gametophyte Releases Gametes
Depending on the plant, the gametophyte can produce male or female sex organs, with some species producing both. The female organ is called the archegonium and contains a single egg. The antheridium, or male organ, contains many cells that develop into sperm.