MadSci Network: Botany
Query:

Re: What are liverworts and what are hornworts? What are they used for?

Date: Sat Apr 15 22:56:00 2000
Posted By: David Hershey, Faculty, Botany, NA
Area of science: Botany
ID: 955244762.Bt
Message:

Liverworts, hornworts and mosses are collectively called bryophytes. All three 
groups are small nonvascular plants, usually of moist shady places. They produce 
spores, not seeds and lack true roots, stems and leaves.

Liverworts are of about 8,000 species. They got their name because some look 
like the human liver. Wort is an old name for plant. They don't have a whole lot 
of uses. Sometimes they are weeds. Some animals eat them and they may assist in 
soil formation. 

Hornworts are similar to liverworts. There are about 100 species. The 
reproductive structure looks like a cattle horn, hence the name.

Mosses are probably more familiar to most people than liverworts and hornworts. 
The most useful of the 15,000 species are the peat mosses which can be burned as 
fuel and used in gardening to improve soil and in potting soil. Sphagnum moss 
was used as bandages in the Civil War and World War I because it is absorbant 
and has antimicrobial properties. Moss gardens are popular in some areas. Mosses 
help in soil formation and birds use them for nests.

Encyclopedias should have more information, and there are several bryophyte 
websites. 

Reference

Stern, K.R. 1991. Introductory Plant Biology. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown.


Bryophyte Web Sites



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