Mosses

Mosses (Bryophyta) are the earliest plants to colonize land on Earth.
Approximately 20,000 species exist worldwide, with about 2,500 species found in Japan.
They are plants that did not develop vascular tissue (tubes that transport water) or roots (which absorb water and nutrients).
What appear to be roots are actually rhizoids, which only serve to anchor the body.
The main body possesses a multicellular generation that produces haploid gametes (eggs and sperm, containing only one set of chromosomes).
They contain chlorophyll and perform photosynthesis (autotrophic), giving them green bodies (thallus or leaf-like structures).
Angiosperms produce flowers with pollen (male gametophytes) and ovules (female gametophytes) to form seeds,
but mosses produce sperm and eggs for fertilization. Sperm require water as a medium to swim through, hence the presence of a cuticle.
Mosses reproduce using spores instead of seeds.
Ferns (Pteridophyta) produce spores on the underside of leaves, while mosses produce spore-bearing structures resembling flowers from the tips of their stems.

Three Groups of Bryophytes (Mosses and Lichens)

Related pages
Mosses (Bryophyta)

Random flowers

Japanese Iris 'Ugo no sora'

Hosta mesiopicia

Sharett

Agapetes incurvata

Lespedeza cyrtobotrya

Lactuca sativa