Bryophytes

Bryophytes are embryophyte plants that are nevertheless non-vascular: they have tissues and enclosed reproductive systems, but they lack vascular tissue that circulates liquids. There are three groups, the liverworts, hornworts, and mosses. They neither flower nor produce seeds, reproducing via spores. These plants are generally gametophyte-oriented; that is, the normal plant is the haploid gametophyte, with the only diploid structure being the sporangium in season.

Bryophytes developed from green algae, while vascular plants developed from them. Modern studies generally show that the liverworts were the first to diverge, followed by the hornworts, while the mosses are the closest living relatives of the vascular plants.

Originally the bryophytes were all grouped together as the division Bryophyta, with three classes. However, since this is a paraphyletic group, they now tend to be placed in three separate divisions. Somewhat confusingly, the Bryophyta then refer specifically to the mosses.