Lesson 2 - Nonvascular Plants

Nonvascular Plants
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education

Diversity of Nonvascular Plants

•Nonvascular plants make up one of the four major groups of plants.

•Nonvascular plants are usually small to allow for transport by diffusion.

•Nonvascular plants are usually found in damp and shady environments

Nonvascular Plants
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education

Diversity of Nonvascular Plants

Division Bryophyta

•Division bryophyta contains the mosses

•Lack leaves but have similar structures

•Produce rootlike, multicellular rhizoids that anchor them to surfaces

•Move water and other substances through diffusion and osmosis

Nonvascular Plants
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education

Diversity of Nonvascular Plants

Division Anthocerophyta

•Called hornworts because of their hornlike sporophytes

•Move water and nutrients through osmosis and diffusion

•Identifying features include the presence of one large chloroplast in each cell,
mucilage/slime between the cells, and mutualistic relationships with
cyanobacteria

Nonvascular Plants
Copyright © McGraw-Hill Education

Diversity of Nonvascular Plants

Division Hepaticophyta

•Called liverworts because of their appearance and medieval medical use

•Tend to grow close to the ground and in areas where moisture is plentiful

•Classified as either leafy or thallose – shaped like a fleshy, lobed structure

•DNA evidence suggests liverworts are the most primitive land plant.