Question

Write the characteristics of the plants belonging to division bryophyte.

Answer 1

Hint: Bryophytes are the major group of non-vascular plants that are the closest extant of early terrestrial plants. They form a transition between aquatic and land plants, as they depend on water for their survival and reproduction.

Complete answer:
The term Bryophyta was coined by Braun in 1964. They were the group of embryophytes that limit their size and live in moist habitats. They are divided into three major classes, the liverworts, hornworts, and the mosses. These plants are not likely to produce flowers or seeds, as they reproduce through spores.

Their general characteristics are as follows:
-They are called 'the amphibians of the plant kingdom' as they are the first plants to live on land but require moist conditions to survive.
-These plants do not have any specialized vascular tissues such as the xylem and phloem for the transportation of water and food.
-The plants of this phylum lack true roots, stems, and leaves. They are rhizoids instead of true roots.
-Their body is differentiated into simple plants without roots, stems, or leaves known as thallophytes. Also, no flowers and seeds are seen.
-The mode of reproduction in these plants involves both sexual and asexual methods, with the production of spores.
-The life cycle of the bryophytes exhibits the alternation of generations, in which the gametophytic or the haploid stage alternates with the diploid sporophytic stage.
-These plants are used as soil conditioners, bioindicators of pollution, pesticides, in preparation of biofuels, and wound dressings. Examples of such plants are Funaria, Riccia, and Marchantia.

Note: Bryophytes comprise three gatherings of non-vascular plants, in particular mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. The remarkable features of Bryophytes' qualities are the absence of true roots stems and leaves. Moreover, rhizoids play out the capacity of roots, basically securing the plants into the surface. However, rhizoids don't retain supplements like conventional plant roots.
A climate that is high in dampness or vicinity to a waterbody is exceptionally fundamental for these plants to develop and spread. Nonetheless, a few types of mosses are additionally known to get by in dry and semi-parched conditions like deserts.