What are “bryophytes” and why are they important?
A “bryophyte” is any member of the plant phyllum Bryophyta. Bryophytes include nearly 960 genera and 24,000 species. Examples of bryophytes : – Funaria (moss), Anthoceros (hornwort), Porella, Marchantia Bryophytes represent a unique group of plants intermediate between the predominantly aquatic thallophytes and terrestrial pteridophytes. They occupy and inhabit a zone which is neither completely land nor completely water. They are the most primitive plants adapted to live on land. It is for this reason bryophytes are often regarded as the amphibians of plant kingdom. The plant body structure and organisation of bryophytes is also intermediate between thallophytes and pteridophytes. As such one can see the blending of algal and pteridophytic characters in bryophytes. Bryophytes are important in studying evolution of plants.
