Question

What are the three classes of bryophytes?

Short answer

Classification of bryophytes:

• Hepaticopsida or liverworts
• Anthocerotopsida or hornworts
• Bryopsida or mosses

Step-by-step solution

Step 1. Introduction

• Non-vascular plants are known as bryophytes.
• They lack roots and vascular tissue, relying instead on the surface to collect water and nutrients from the air.

Step 2. Explanation

• Hepaticopsida: Gametophyte plant is either thalloid or foliose. The leaves in foliose forms lack a midrib and are dorsiventral. (For example, Marchantia)
• Anthocerotopsida: The gametophytic body is a basic thalloid that is flat, dorsiventral, and lacks internal differentiation. (For example, Anthoceros)
• Bryopsida: Protonema and foliose gametophore are two types of gametophytes. Foliose leaves have no midrib and have no stem as an axis. (e.g. Funaria)