bryophyte

Member of the Bryophyta, a division of the plant kingdom containing three classes: the Hepaticae (liverwort), Musci (moss), and Anthocerotae (hornwort). Bryophytes are generally small, low-growing, terrestrial plants with no vascular (water-conducting) system as in higher plants. Their life cycle shows a marked alternation of generations. Bryophytes chiefly occur in damp habitats and require water for the dispersal of the male gametes (antherozoids).

In bryophytes, the sporophyte, consisting only of a spore-bearing capsule on a slender stalk, is wholly or partially dependent on the gametophyte for water and nutrients. In some liverworts the plant body is a simple thallus, but in the majority of bryophytes it is differentiated into stem, leaves, and rhizoids.