Nonvascular Plants Portal

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class="breadcrumb-item "> <a href="/" class="link-white">Home</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-white" href="/browse/Science">Science</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> <a class="link-white" href="/browse/Plants">Plants</a> </span> <span class="breadcrumb-item "> Nonvascular Plants </span> </nav> <h1 class="font-serif mt-30 mb-20">Nonvascular Plants</h1> <div class="font-serif grid"> <div class="col-sm-70 col-sm-offset-15"> Bryophyte, traditional name for any nonvascular seedless plant鈥攏amely, any of the mosses (division Bryophyta), hornworts (division Anthocerotophyta), and liverworts (division Marchantiophyta). Most bryophytes lack complex tissue organization, yet they show considerable diversity in form and ecology. They are widely distributed throughout the world and are relatively small compared with most seed-bearing plants.</div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container"> <h2 class="label my-30">Nonvascular Plants Encyclopedia Articles</h2> <a href="/browse/Nonvascular-Plants/1">See articles</a> <h2 class="label my-30 text-center">Featured Articles</h2> <div class="js-pinboard grid gy-20"> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/leafy-liverwort" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/images/shared/default3.png?v=3.133.9" class="default col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/leafy-liverwort" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">leafy liverwort</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Leafy liverwort, (order Jungermanniales), order of numerous species of liverworts (division Marchantiophyta), in which the plant body is prostrate and extends horizontally in leaflike form with an upper... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/hornwort" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/57/118257-050-A245C7AE/Hornwort.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="hornwort" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/hornwort" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">hornwort</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Hornwort, (division Anthocerotophyta), any of about 300 species of small nonvascular plants. Hornworts usually grow on damp soils or on rocks in tropical and warm temperate regions. The largest genus,... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/peat-moss" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/83/9683-004-FA3613B0/Peat-moss.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="peat moss" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/peat-moss" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">peat moss</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Peat moss, (genus Sphagnum), genus of more than 300 species of moss (division Bryophyta). The taxonomy of Sphagnum species has been controversial, and various botanists accept quite different numbers of... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/bryophyte" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/21/143721-050-94A83389/Bryophyte-moss-oak-trees.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="bryophyte moss" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/bryophyte" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">bryophyte</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Bryophyte, traditional name for any nonvascular seedless plant鈥攏amely, any of the mosses (division Bryophyta), hornworts (division Anthocerotophyta), and liverworts (division Marchantiophyta). Most bryophytes... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="p-10 d-inline-flex js-pin col-100 col-sm-33 col-md-25 "> <div class="card text-normal col-100 "> <div class="card-media position-relative"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/liverwort" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/99/131099-050-583623F2/liverwort-gametophyte.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="gametophyte" class="col-100" /> </a> </div> <div class="col"> <div class="card-body text-hyphenate"> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/plant/liverwort" class="font-weight-bold font-16 lh-sm">liverwort</a> <div class="font-serif mt-10 font-14"> Liverwort, (division Marchantiophyta), any of more than 9,000 species of small nonvascular spore-producing plants. Liverworts are distributed worldwide, though most commonly in the tropics. Thallose liverworts,... </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="adm my-30"></div> <DIV class="marketing-CATEGORY_PAGE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="CATEGORY_PAGE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Britannica Premium</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Did you know you're not getting the full Britannica experience? 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