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Biology: The Bryophytes
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The Spore-producing Plants

Plants which do not produce seeds produce spores to reproduce. Spores are microscopic reproductive cells which can be easily transported by wind.

The Bryophytes: Mosses and Liverworts
These are small plants which never grow more than a few centimetres tall. Their roots, if they have any at all, are very small and simple. The bryophytes are always found growing where conditions are wet or where the climate is wet for a part of the year. This is important because it helps them to reproduce.

Liverworts
The liverworts are plants which are very delicate. They can easily dry out and die. Their bodies are flat and broad and they grow in dense mats over rocks beside streams and waterfalls.

In the early spring, as the amount of daylight increases and the temperature rises, liverworts start to grow a long stem with a ball shaped end to it. This ball will gradually turn black or brown and, eventually, it will burst open. The ball is called a spore case or sporangium (pl. sporangia). When the spore case bursts open it releases thousands of microscopic spores into the air. The liverworts produce spores to be carried in the air currents. When the spore lands on the soil, if the conditions are suitable it will grow into a new liverwort plant.

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