BRYOPHYTA

The amphibians of plant kingdom.

Because:

They are land plants but require water for reproduction for dehiscence of antheridia,liberation of antherozoids transfer of antherozoids from antheridia to archegonia, opening of archegonial neck and movement of antherozoids into the archegonial neck.

CHARACTERISTICS OF BRYPHYTA

•1.They include simplest and most primitive land plants.

•2.They grow in moist shady places.

•3.Plant body  thalloid not differentiated into true root stem and leaves or leafy shoot having  stem like central axis and leaf like appendages.

•4. roots are absent but hair like appendages unicellular or multicellular rhizoids are present.

•5.Vascular tissue is absent.

6.Asexual reproduction takes place by fragmentation ,budding or by special structure called gammae

•7. Sexual reproduction is Oogamous type that is small  motile male gamete fertilize the large non motile female gamete to form zygote. 8. Main plant body is haploid called gametophyte that produces gametes antheridia and archegonia after fertilization zygote form which grow to form sporophyte which is dependent on gametophyte for nutrition and also short lived .Sporophyte produces spore by meiosis which germinate to form independent dominant gametophyte.

Antheridia and Archegonia are multicellular with sterile jacket

Antheridia have androcyte mother cell which produces biflagellate antherozoids.

Archegonia stalked with venter & neck ,The neck encloses variable no. of neck canal cell and venter have a venter canal cell and large naked egg.

Hepaticopsida or  Liverworts	Anthocerotopsida or  Hornworts	Bryopsida or Mosses
1.Plant body is thalloid 2.Rhizoids are unicellular and unbranched. 3.For vegetative reproduction gamme are  present they are multicellular green biconvex bodies produced in gamme cup. 4.Sporophyte is differentiated into foot seta and capsule. 5.Spore dispersal by wind Ex. Riccia, Marchantia, Pellia	1.Gametophyte like liverwort but sporophyte look like horn. 2. Dehiscence by two halves and shows hygroscopic twisting. Ex.Anthoceros	1.Gametophytic plant body is leafy axis radial symmetry. 2. Rhizoids are multicellular branched with oblique septa. 3.Internally axis possess primitive conducting strands and peripheral cortex.  4.Sporophyte is differentiated into foot seta and capsule.Capsule has a peristome for spore dispersal. 5.Sporophyte have a juvenile protonema stage. Ex.Funaria ,Polytrichum , Sphagnum , pogonatum.