13'2 Bryophytes

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13.2 Bryophytes

• Liverworts

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• In wet areas of a forest or bog, you may find
  bryophytes like the liverwort

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• The bodies of most liverworts have flat, leaflike
  structures.

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• Other liverworts have bodies divided into rounded
  sections, or lobes.

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• Liverworts got their unusual name because the
  shape of the lobed liverwort looks somewhat like
  a mammal's liver.

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• Both kinds of liverworts have rhizoids.

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• The life cycle of liverworts is similar to that
  of mosses.

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• The leaflike structures belong to the
  gametophyte, which is the most noticeable stage.

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• The smaller sporophyte produces capsules that
  contain special spring-loaded cells.

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• These cells launch the spores and help them
  disperse.

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• Close relatives of the liverworts are the
  hornworts.

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• The gametophytes of both plants look very much
  alike.

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• However, their sporophytes look very different.

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• Hornworts get their name from their sporophytes,
  which are hornlike.

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