MadSci Network: Botany |
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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