Bryophytes are a division of nonvascular plants that include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. They were some of the earliest land plants, emerging around 485 million years ago. Bryophytes grow in habitats where water is periodically available, such as forest floors, tree trunks, and damp soil. They reproduce through an alternation of generations, where the dominant gametophyte generation produces sex organs and a dependent sporophyte generation that produces spores and fertilizes the eggs to form diploid zygotes. Bryophytes play important ecological roles in soil formation, moisture retention, and nutrient recycling in forests.