Everything about Non-vascular Plant totally explained
Non-vascular plants is a general term for those
plants (including the
green algae) without a
vascular system (
xylem and
phloem). Although non-vascular plants lack these particular tissues, a number of non-vascular plants possess tissues specialized for internal transport of
water.
Non-vascular plants have no
roots,
stems, or
leaves, since each of these structures is defined by containing
vascular tissue. The lobes (rounded parts) of the liverwort may look like leaves, but they're not true leaves because they've no
xylem or
phloem. Likewise, mosses and algae have no such tissues.
All plants have a life cycle with an
alternation of generations between a diploid
sporophyte and a haploid
gametophyte, but nonvascular plants include the only plants that have a dominant gametophyte generation. In these plants, the sporophytes grow attached and are dependent on gametophytes for taking in water and other materials. Non-vascular plant grow from spore.
Non-vascular groups
The term non-vascular plant is no longer used in scientific nomenclature. Non-vascular plants include two distantly related groups:
- Bryophytes - the Bryophyta (mosses), the Marchantiophyta (liverworts), and the Anthocerotophyta (hornworts). In these groups, the primary plants are the haploid gametophytes, with the only diploid portion being the attached sporophyte, consisting of a stalk and sporangium. Because these plants lack the water-conducting tissues, they fail to achieve the structural complexity and size of most vascular plants.
- Algae - especially the green algae. Recent studies have demonstrated that the algae actually consist of several unrelated groups. It turns out that common features of living in water and photosynthesis were misleading as indicators of close relationship. Only the green algae are still considered relatives of the plants.
Both of these groups are occasionally termed the "lower plants"; the term "lower" refers to these plants' status as the earliest plants to
evolve. However, the term "lower" plants isn't precise, since it frequently is used to include some
vascular plants, the
ferns and
fern allies.
In the past, the term
non-vascular plant included all the
algae, but also the
fungi as well. Today, it's recognized that these groups are not closely related to plants, and have a very different
biology.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Non-vascular Plant'.
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