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

Content: 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. These sporophytes are somewhat parasitic toward the adult gametophytes to which they are attached, even though these sporophytes are able to produce much of their own food through photosynthesis. Figure %
Liverworts
Liverworts gained their name from the liver-like lobes that characterize some types of these plants. Other types are more moss-like, growing on damp rocks or soil, and others are "leafy" and live on moist tree surfaces. Liverworts, which have a life cycle similar to that of mosses (but with simpler sporophytes), can also reproduce asexually through small structures called gemmae that are formed on the surface of the liverwort leaf. After these gemmae break free from the adult plant, they can give rise to new gametophytes on their own.