General characters of Bryophytes

1. GENERAL CHARACTERS AND
CLASSIFICATION OF
BRYOPHYTES
Prepared by:
Dr. E. Gayathiri
Department of Plant Biology and Plant
Biotechnology,
Guru Nanak College, Chennai

2. • Habitat of Bryophytes
• General characters of
• Liverworts
• Hornworts
• Mosses
• Economic importance of Bryophytes

3. BRYOPHYTES- GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Bryophytes are a group of small, simple, green land
plants of which few are aquatic
• Study of Bryophytes- Bryology
• (Bryon- Moss, Phyton- Plant)
• 960 Genera and 24,000 species
• Bryophytes are less than 2 cm long
• Dawsonia superba- 60 cm
Source: www.allword.com: Information of Riccia jayparmar372000.blogspot.comSource: Polytrichum - Alchetron, The Free ... alchetron.com
Source: Anthoceros: The Hornworts : Plantlet plantlet.org
Source:Dawsonia superba – Biota bio113.weebly.com
Riccia
PolytrichumAnthocerous
Dawsonia superba

4. BRYOPHYTES- GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
•Found in warm and moist areas
•Also found in dry deserts and dry rocks
Source:Syntrichia caninervis - Wikispeciesspecies.wikimedia.org
Source: Bryophytes in arid areas - bryophyteanbg.gov.au
Bryophytes in arid areas Syntrichia caninervis

5. •Bryophytes evolved from ancient group of algae
• Bryophytes developed features to prevent drying
out, to adapt land
BRYOPHYTES- GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Source: Reproduction in Porella (With Diagram) biologydiscussion.com, Palaeos Plants: Bryophyta: Bryophyta-2
Source: A textbook of botany for colleges and ...alamy.com
Antheridium
Archegonium
Sporangium
Calyptra
Sterile jacket Venter

6. • Bryophytes the amphibians of plant kingdom
(Live both in soil and depend water for Sex.
Reproduction)
• Biflagellate sperm swim through water to reach
egg.
Source: Lab 10 The Bryophytes shkola.of.by
BRYOPHYTES- GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Sperm
Egg

7. • The plant body is thallus like and prostrate or erect
• Bryophytes are attached to substratum by Rhizoid
(Root like)
• They lack true xylem and phloem
• They may be Root like, Leaf like and stem like
Riccia
Dawsonia superba
BRYOPHYTES- GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Rhizoid
Source:Digestion - All About BryophytaBy: izzy ... allaboutbryophyta.weebly.com

8. • Plant body is called Gametophyte
• Sporophyte is attached and dependent on the
Gametophyte
• Gametophyte is dominant , Sporophyte is short
lived.
Source: Bryophyte Reproductive Cycle www1.biologie.uni-hamburg.de, moss gametophyte and sporophyte ... researchgate.net
Bryophytes- General characteristics

9. • Based on thallus morphology
Bryophytes- General characteristics
Liverworts
Hornwort
s
Mosses
Riccia
Anthocerous
Polytrichum

10. • Class: Hepaticopsida
Bryophytes- Liverworts
Source: Difference Between Liverworts and ... differencebetween.com, Bryo.cs
Marchantia
Riccia
• Thallus like
• (Dorsiventral Flat)
Source: lophocolea sp. www.verspreidingsatlas.nl
Lophocolea sp.
Source: lophocolea sp :Microview Home Page

11. • Based on Asexual Reproduction
Bryophytes- Reproduction
Fragmentation
Gemmae
Riccia Marchantia
Source: Marchantia polymorpha. Common liverwort ...nature-microscope-photo-video.com

12. Life cycle of Marchatia
Source: Pinterest

13. Bryophytes- hornworts
Class- Anthocerotopsida
Anthocerous
Thallus resemble that of
liverwort (Horned Liverworts)
Sporophytes
Nostoc sp are present in the cavity
Source: Biology DiscussionSource: Anthoceros sp. hiddenforest.co.nz

14. Sexual Reproduction
Source: Lumen Learning

15. Class-Mucopsida
Source Large image for Funaria hygrometrica ... plants.usda.gov, Sphagnum moss | The Wildlife Trusts wildlifetrusts.org
Bryophytes- Mosses
Polytrichum
Funaria
Sphagnum

16. Gametophyte (Main plant body )
Source: Lumen Learning
Bryophytes- Mosses
Protonema stage
Spore
Secondary Protonema
Leafy stage

17. • Leafy stage bears the
sex organs
Bryophytes- Mosses
Source: Embibe

18. • Based on Asexual Reproduction
Bryophytes- Mosses Reproduction
Fragmentation
Budding in the secondary protonema
Polytrichum
Polytrichum
SourceCommon Haircap Moss Polytrichum Commune ... shutterstock.com

19. Bryophytes- Mosses Sexual Reproduction
Source: Britannica Kids

20. Source: The Hidden Forest
Bryophytes- Mosses Reproduction
Peristome
• Calyptra drop off
• Operculum (lid )shed
• Peristome teeth bend outwards to release spores
• At last spores are dispersed

21. Some mosses provide food for herbaceous
mammals, bird and animals
Sphagnum is the main component of peat
Sphagnum have the capacity to hold water
Mosses along the lichens to colonize rocks
Mosses form dense mats on soil and reduce the
impact of falling rain and prevent soil erosion
Economic importance of Bryophytes

22. THANK YOU