34.2
Plant life on Earth consists of nonvascular, seedless vascular, and seed plants.
While seed plants are the most widespread on Earth today, nonvascular plants were once one of the key features of the terrestrial landscape.
Today, this group includes three phyla of small, herbaceous plants: mosses, liverworts, and hornworts-which include many aquatic species. These plants are often collectively called bryophytes.
Like all plants, bryophytes alternate between haploid gametophyte—here, the main body of the moss-and diploid sporophyte stages during their life cycles. This process is called the alternation of generations.
Unlike other plants, bryophytes have life cycles dominated by gametophytes. Bryophyte gametophytes are typically larger and live longer than their sporophyte counterparts which depend upon them for nourishment and protection.
One major characteristic of the bryophytes is that they lack seeds and reproduce using spores produced by the diploid sporophyte. These spores then grow via mitosis to form the gametophyte.
Fertilization in non-vascular plants still occurs using male and female gametes. However, instead of pollen, the male gametes of nonvascular plants are self
版权所有 © 2026 MyJoVE Corporation。保留所有权利。