Bryophyte+6th+period

= __**Bryophyte 2**__ =

Bryophyte generally refers to three different types of plants: Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Each of these plants all peculiar from on another but all belong to the same phylum. Mosses tend to be very leafy. Their leaves grow from stems as do spore stocks that release spores. Unlike mosses hornworts are not leafy but instead consist of a flat greenish sheet called Thallose.

The spore stalks of hornworts grow as horn like structures from the thallose.

Liverworts come in two forms either leafy or thallose based. In Thallose liverworts the spores are released form the thallose while in leafy liverworts release spores from the leafy part.
 * [[image:bryophyte2:leafy_liverwort.jpg caption="Leafy liverwort"]] ||
 * Leafy liverwort ||


 * [[image:bryophyte2:Thallose_liver_wort.jpg caption="Thallose liverwort"]] ||
 * Thallose liverwort ||

__**Anatomy**__

Although Bryophytes do have tissue for transfering water throughout its system, these tissues do not consist of lingin they are not considered to be a vascular system. Instead of having roots Byrophytes have filamentous rhizoids(a root like appendage) that are similar to that of fungi. Unlike fungi however the rhizoids of bryophytes act as trichomes that anchor the plant to the ground.

__**Classes**__

Bryophyte breaks of into three classes: bryopsida, Andreaeopsida, Sphagnopsida. The bryopsida class composes of mosses such as Atrichum Mosses, Tetraphis Mosses, Copper Mosses, and Arctoa Mosses. The mosses under this class are known as true mosses and make up 95% of all mosses around the world. the Andreaeopsida class also compose of mosses but these ones are known as "Lantern Mosses" and grow on the surfaces of rocks. The Sphagnopsida class is made of "Peat Mosses" which often are burned as fuel.

Sources

[|__http://www.anbg.gov.au/bryophyte/what-is-bryophyte.html__]

[|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryophyte__]

[|__http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/bryophyta.htm__]