What are the differences between a moss and a liverwort?
There are certain clear-cut differences between mosses and liverworts. For example: • Capsule opening mechanisms: In most liverworts, when a spore capsule is ripe, it merely bursts open along four longitudinal axes; moss capsules nearly always have rather more complex opening mechanisms. • Structure of rhizoids: In liverworts, the rhizoids are nearly always composed of a single, elongated cell; in mosses the rhizoids are multicellular. • Early development of the gametophyte: In mosses, following spore germination, but preceding development of the mature gametophyte plant, a juvenile stage known as a protonema forms. This is absent or much reduced in liverworts. Other differences are less clear-cut: • All mosses consist of a stem (branched or not) bearing leaf-like structures. Many liverworts do not have this type of structure (though most do!). • Many liverworts have leaves which are deeply lobed or divided. No mosses have leaves like this. • All liverworts with a leafy structure have
