Comparsion of the bryophyte phyla

The roughly 18,000 species of bryophytes are generally classified into three phyla, the Bryophyta (mosses), Jungermanniophyta (liverworts) and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts).

Most of us couldn't tell the differences between a moss and a liverwort, yet clear cut characteristcs readily distinguish the two:

Character	Moss	Liverwort
opening of capsule	complex	splits along 4 axes
spore -->gametophyte	juvenile protenema stage	generally absent
rhizoids or root-like structures	multicellular usually	single, elongated cell
form	leaflike projections off 'stem'	either leaflike or flat thallus
'leaf' arrangement	not flattened leaf attachment- in spiral or whorl attachment	2 or 3 row-flattened pattern
'leaf' rib	thickened 'rib'-like structure	no 'rib'

 

---

Life cycles and features of the Bryophytes	The mosses	The liverworts
The hornworts	Economic and ecological roles of the bryophytes	Differences between the mosses and liverworts
	Return to introductory Bryophyte page