English

Bryum argenteum (a moss)

Marchantia polymorpha (a liverwort)

Anthoceros agrestis (a hornwort)

Noun

bryophyte ‎(plural bryophytes)

1. (botany) Any plant of the division Bryophyta, defined sensu lato to comprise the mosses, liverworts and hornworts and corresponding to all embryophytes that are not vascular plants.
   • 1993, Wilson Nichols Stewart, Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants, page 77,

     Without going into their reasons, Bold, Alexopoulos, & DelBevoryas (1980) and Crandall-Stotler (1980) believe that there are at least three independent lines of bryophytes and that this is best reflected by establishing three divisions - the Bryophyta (mosses), Hepatophyta (liverworts), and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts).

   • 2002, William R. Buck, Bryophytes, entry in Niles Eldredge (editor), Life on Earth, page 202,

     Because of their small size and often delicate structure, bryophytes have a poor fossil record, dating back only about 290 million years.

   • 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA 2003, p. 312:

     And so it was that I was introduced to Len Ellis and the quiet world of bryophytes – mosses to the rest of us.

Translations

See also

• Anthocerotophyta (the hornworts)
• cryptogam
• embryophyte
• Marchantiophyta (the liverworts)
• pteridophyte
• spermatophyte