Assignment: Botany

Class: Bs Zoology
Submitted By: M Umair
Submitted to: Mam Faiza
Introduction:
● Bryophytes are an informal group of land plants have been around for 400
million years or more.
● They are limited in size and prefer moist habitats although they can survive in
drier invironments.
● They consists of about 20,000 species and 9000 genera.
● The term “bryophytes” comes from Greek word “Bryon” means “Tree-Moss”
and “Phyton” means “Plant”.
General Characteristics:
● Bryophytes do not have true vascular tissues for support and transport.
● They lack true roots and have root like structures called rhizoids.
● Rhizoids are relatively simple, sometimes multicellular filaments of thin-walled
cells that extend from the photosynthetic tissues into the soil.
● They lack leaves.However they have leaf-like scales that contain chloroplasts
in which photosynthesis occurs.
● They have autotrophic(Funaria hygrometrica) as well as
saprophytic(Buxbaumia aphylla) mode of nutrition.
● Plant body is thallus( not differentiated into root,stem and leaves).
● They have both saprophytic as well as gametophytic generation but
gametophytic generation is dominant one.
● They are usually small and measure between 2 to 4 inches and also lack true
stem.
● They need water for their firtilization so also called as amphibians of plants.
Habitat
Bryophtyes exist in a wide variety of habitats.They can be found growing in a
range of temperatures( cold arctics and hot deserts), elevations(sea-level to
alpine) and moisture( dry deserts to wet rainforests).

They can grow where vascularised plants cannot because they do not depend
on roots for uptake of nutrients from soil.They can survive on rocks and bare
soil.
Evolution
● It is believed that the division Bryophyte evolved from green algae.
● Genetic analysis has shown that Bryophyte species do not share the same
common ancestor and in some cases they are only distantly related.
● Two adaptations made the move from water to land possible for Bryophytes: a
waxy cuticle and gametangia.
● The waxy cuticle helped to protect the plants tissue from drying out and the
gametangia provided further protection against drying out specifically for the
plants gametes.
● Bryophytes also show embryonic development which is a significant
adaptation that links them to the vascular land plants.
Types:
There are three main types of bryophytes:

1. Liverworts
2. Hornworts
3. Mosses
Liverworts
● Liverworts are flowerles spore-producing plants with spores producing in
small capsules.
● Typically small;ranging from 2-20 mm wide with individual plants less than
10cm long.
● Certain species may cover large patches of ground, rocks or trees.
● Types:
● The most familiar liverworts consists of a prostrate, flattened, ribbin-like or
branching structure called a thallus(plant body); these are termed as thallose
liverworts.
● Most liverworts produce flattened stems with overlapping scales or leaves in
two or more ranks, these are called leafy liverworts or scales liverworts.
● In ancient times, it was believed that it could cure
diseases of the liver.
● Reduces erosion along streambanks.
Hornworts
● Hornworts are flowerless, spore-producing plants.
● Spores are produced in a tapering, hornlike or needle like capsule which
developes from a flattish, green sheet.
● Only 100 species are identified.
Mosses
● Mosses are small and soft plants that are usually 1-10cm tall.
● These are flowerless and seedless.
● Typically grow close together in a moist or shady areas.
● Some mosses are found on rocks and in arid locations.
Reproduction
There are three types of reproduction in bryophytes:

1. Vegetative Reproduction
2. Asexual Reproduction
3. Sexual Reproduction
Vegetative Reproduction
1.By Fragmentation:

The basal, posterior portion of the thallus starts rotting or due unfavorable
conditions or drought. When this process of decay reaches up to the place of
dichotomy, the lobes of the thallus get separated and grow into new individuals.

2. By Gemmae:

Gemmae are green, multicellular reproductive bodies of various shapes.

These are produced in gemma cups, on the surface of the leaves, on stem apex
or even inside the cells. They get detached from the parent plant and after falling
on a suitable substratum gemmae give rise to a new individual directly (e.g.,
Marchantia) or indirectly (e.g., Mosses)
3. By Regeneration:

The liverworts possess an amazing power of regeneration. Part of the plant or

any living cell of the thallus (e.g., rhizoid, scales).are capable of regenerating the
entire plant f e.g., Riccia, Marchantia etc.

4. By Adventitious Branches:

The adventitious branches develop from the ventral surface the thallus e.g., Riccia fluitans,
Anthoceros. On being detached from the parent plant these branches develop into new thalli.

5. By Bulbils:

These are small resting buds develop on rhizoids. Bulbils are devoid of chlorophyll but full of starch.
On germination bulbils produce a protonema which bears leafy gametophores
Asexual Reproduction
● It takes place by spores.
● The mature sporangium cosists of a basal swollen foot, a stalk or seta, and
capsule.
● The capsule comprises of sporogenous cells surrounded by a layer of sterile
cells.
● These cells undergo decisions repeatedly and last generation of cells is called
spore mother cells which undergo meiosis to produce tatrads of haploid
spores.
● These spores are non-motile and alike.Therefore bryophytes are
homosporous.
Sexual Reproduction
1. Sexual reproduction is highly oogamous.

2. Male and female sex organs are known as antheridia (Sing, antheridium) and
archegonia (Sing, archegonium), respectively.

3. Sex organs are jacketed and multilayered.

4. Water is essential for fertilization.

Fertilization
In all bryophytes fertilization is dependent on water—usually a film of water or the
splashing of raindrops—for the transfer of sperm to the egg. Chemical stimuli
direct the motile flagellate sperm to the archegonium. The fertilized egg (zygote)
grows out of the gametophyte, which is also the source of its nourishment.
Typically the sporophyte is a slender stalk from 1 to 2 in. (2.5–5 cm) long, with a
capsule at the tip; in some species it may be green and manufacture some of its
own food. Cells within the capsule undergo meiosis (reduction division) to produce
haploid spores. In many mosses the capsule has a lid, the operculum, which is
shed, releasing spores. In other bryophytes the mature capsule ruptures in other
ways to release spores.
Economic Importance
1. Ecological Importance:

(a) Pioneer of the land plants. Bryophytes are pioneer of the land plants because
they are the first plants to grow and colonize the barren rocks and lands

(b) Soil erosion. Bryophytes prevent soil erosion. They usually grow densely and
hence act as soil binders. Mosses grow in dense strands forming mat or carpet
like structure..

2. As Food:

Some Bryophytes e.g., mosses are used as food by chicks, birds and Alaskan
reindeer etc.
5. In Medicines

Some Bryophytes are used medicinally in various diseases for e.g.,

(a) Pulmonary tuberculosis and affliction of liver—Marchantia spp.

(c) Acute hemorrhage and diseases of eye—Decoction of Sphagnum.

(d) Stone of kidney and gall bladder—Polytrichum commune.

6. In Experimental Botany:

The liverworts and mosses play an important role as research tools in various
fields of Botany such as genetics. For the first time in a liverwort, Sphaerocarpos,
the mechanism of sex determination in plants was discovered.