What is the difference between mosses and multicellular algae? Moss species and their habitats

Characteristics of lower plants

Algae are called inferior, because their body is a collection of cells (there is no division into the root, stem and leaves). It is called a slate, thallus or thallus. Algae cells are not specialized. They are connected anatomically, but each of them performs similar functions. With the help of rhizoids, algae are attached to the substrate. This structure also does not form tissues, therefore it is not capable of performing a conductive function. And there is no need for it, since the lower ones grow exclusively in water.

Higher spore plants - land-based

Due to climate change, plants have had to adapt to the terrestrial environment. The first representatives of this ecological group appeared in the Devonian. This is a group of extinct plants called rhinophytes. Their prints are well preserved in ancient fossils. These are the first plants to have elements of conductive tissue. Therefore, they are also called vascular. Their ribbed stems forked, and instead of roots, rhizoids were still preserved.

Rhinophytes were replaced by mosses. Currently, there are about 10 thousand species of them. The difference between mosses and algae lies not only in the habitat. Their life on land became possible due to the significant complication of the structure. Most mosses have a leafy structure. At the same time, rhizoids persist throughout their life.

Moss structure

How is moss different from algae? In spore plants, a generational change is observed in the life cycle. Let's analyze this process using the example of their typical representative, cuckoo flax moss. His sexual generation has a green carpet appearance. Visually, it resembles some types of algae.

If you look closely, the green cover consists of individual thin stems with sessile leaves. At the end of summer, a box on a leg forms at their top. This asexual generation is a sporophyte. The shape of the box looks like a cuckoo. This is where the name of this plant species comes from.

In the capsule, cells of asexual reproduction ripen - spores. When ripe, they spill out into the soil and germinate. Green leafy shoots grow from the spores again. The organs of sexual reproduction - gametangia - are formed on them. Sex cells - eggs and spermatozoa - mature in them. In the presence of water, they merge, resulting in a zygote. A sporophyte grows out of it. Thus, in the life cycle of bryophytes, the sexual generation predominates.

Plant species: algae, mosses

Since algae appeared on the planet much earlier, their structure is much more primitive. This does not allow these plants to master new habitats. To understand how moss differs from algae, it is necessary to consider the peculiarities of their organization and life processes.

Let's start with body structure. All mosses are exclusively multicellular organisms. There are various types of algae. For example, chlamydomonas and chlorella are unicellular. Volvox is a colonial alga. It consists of a group of cells united by a single shell. The thalli of chlorella, spirogyra, kelp, and sargassum are more complex. They are all multicellular.

Many features of the difference can be found in the characteristics of the vital activity of these organisms. Both mosses and algae are capable of sexual reproduction. But in the latter, this process occurs under unfavorable conditions. This is a kind of algae protection. For example, when the temperature of the water drops or the reservoir dries up, the mother cell of Chlamydomonas forms gametes.

They go out into the water and merge in pairs. As a result, a zygote is formed - a fertilized egg. It is covered with a thick shell, which allows it to endure both freezing and drying. When favorable conditions occur, the contents of the zygote are divided, as a result of which mobile cells of asexual reproduction - zoospores - enter the water. They increase in size and acquire the features of adults.

So, in our article, we examined how moss differs from algae. The main features are as follows:

• Algae are older plants that originated in water.
• Mosses are the first to land on land.
• Algae can be single or multicellular. There are also colonial forms.
• All bryophytes are multicellular plants, the body of which has a leafy structure.
• In algae, males and females, sporophyte and gametophyte do not differ externally. And mosses may have differences in their structure.
• Algae can multiply in parts of the thallus. Mosses are not capable of vegetative propagation.

About mosses and lichens, most of us only know that these are the simplest types of plants, and also that according to which side the moss grows, you can somehow get out of the forest if you get lost. But such terms as "bryology" or "sphagnum" may be incomprehensible to anyone who is not a professional biologist, florist or aquarist. Let's fill the knowledge gap, because this is quite interesting!

What are mosses and where are they found

Mosses (more accurately called bryophytes) are a division of the plant kingdom that unites species in the reproduction cycle of which the gametophyte life stage (sexual generation with a single set of unpaired chromosomes) prevails over the sporophyte stage (asexual generation).

The scientific definition of mosses is bryophytes, hence the name of the branch of botany that studies them - bryology. The vast majority of bryophytes belongs to the class of leafy mosses.

The stems of these plants, located above the earth's surface, are dotted with small outgrowth leaves, while the underground part has many long filamentous processes, the so-called rhizoids. Representatives of this species have both similarities and significant differences from their relatives in the kingdom.

Mosses, like fungi and bacteria, multiply by spores. At this early and transient asexual stage of their life cycle, the bryophytes are the simplest formation (sporophyte) in the form of a capsule on a leg, physiologically related to their mother plant.
The sporophyte performs one single function - it ensures the maturation of spores, after which it quickly dries up and dies off.

Bryophyte of the sexual generation - the second stage of the life cycle - is a perennial plant (gametophyte), which has a resemblance of root processes and leaf-like outgrowths. However, this is only an external resemblance to deciduous plants.

Important! Mosses have no roots, no flowers, no vascular conduction system in the traditional sense of these terms.

Due to the absence of a true root system, mosses are critically dependent on air humidity up to a complete suspension of life in dry times. Once the moisture level is restored, the plant revives. It is difficult to imagine an area where mosses grow.

These plants, under favorable conditions, are able to cover vast areas in forests and inter-forest areas with a continuous blanket, settle on soil, trees, other plants, stones, sand, in any climatic zone - from the Arctic to the desert. They do not get along only in salty sea water.

The meaning of mosses

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of mosses in the formation and development of the Earth's biosphere. Since prehistoric times, the ancient ancestors of modern lichens, mosses and ferns have gradually colonized the previously lifeless wastelands, creating as a result of their vital activity the soil cover necessary for other plants, and thus becoming a kind of "pioneers" in the greening of our planet.

Important! Mossy are the basis of bog ecosystems. In arid regions, due to the property like a sponge, to accumulate and store large volumes of water, mossy thickets prevent the onset of the desert.

In places of their dominant growth, bryophytes are able to cover vast areas of the earth's surface, acting as a natural refuge for animals and birds. In areas of tundra and permafrost, they are a stabilizing factor that prevents melting underground ice, the formation of landslides and ravines, contribute to the preservation of the terrain.

Video: the meaning of mosses

If we talk about the meaning of bryophytes for humans, then their use is very diverse. Extracts from certain types of these plants can be used in cosmetology and medicine as tonic, antiseptic and hemostatic agents.

For residents of the Far North, far from civilization, moss is very relevant as a natural insulation for dwellings, and, say, in the taiga it can be used as dressings for medical care.

Decorative mossy species are one of the most important elements of landscape design and decoration of floristic compositions. And yet, first of all, peat is used in human life - natural deposits of dying sphagnum mosses.

Peat is used:

• as a fuel in the energy sector;
• as a raw material and filler for soil mixtures and fertilizers, as well as mulch in agricultural technology and agriculture;
• as bedding on fur farms and poultry farms;
• as insulation in construction;
• in metallurgy, medicine, chemical industry, ecology and many other industries.

Forest mosses

The forest is an ideal place for bryophytes to grow. Here they live on trees, stones, along the banks of streams and lakes, preferring moderately shaded, humid places, often covering large areas with a solid carpet.

All of them belong to the class of leafy mosses, which means that they have a stem covered with small leaves in the aboveground (above-water) part, and covered with numerous outgrowths in the lower, constantly dying part. Different types of mosses differ not only in the shape and color of the leaves, but also in the density and direction of growth of the stems.
It should be noted that in warm and humid weather, mossy thickets always have a lush and juicy appearance, playing with colors from bluish-green to yellow-brown, which creates a truly delightful sight. In the absence of moisture, all this splendor quickly fades, as if covered with a thick layer of dust.

The most common representatives of forest bryophytes include:

1. Climace.

The aerial part of the climacium is a low stalk (up to 15 centimeters), which rises vertically upward, branching several times in bushy way in all directions, and in fact resembles a small tree.
The "trunk" and "branches" of this tree are dotted with small scaly leaves, which, when dry, play with bright yellowish-green hues.

Did you know? Interestingly, mosses can "wake up" even after very long freezing. So, in 2014, at the South Pole, scientists found samples of frozen mosses. Their age was determined at 1530 years. After two or three weeks in a suitable incubator, the moss began to grow. Among bryologists, this event was perceived as a sensation.

The lower (underground) part of the stem is creeping, covered with barely noticeable rhizoid filaments. Branching out, it forms a kind of network, at the nodes of which bushes of the aboveground part rise. The cylindrical capsule of the sporogon is located on a long red stalk and contains 12 to 15 spores.

Climate can often be found in clarified areas in dense moist forests, near swamps, rivers, along the shores of lakes.

This name hides a whole genus of bryophytes, numbering more than forty varieties.

The most common representatives of this genus are as follows:

• mnium, or wavy mnium;
• wrinkled mnium;
• pointed mnium or forest;
• average mnium;
• point mnium;
• mnium is zinc-like.

The main feature of mnium is rather large (up to 5 mm) oval leaves, freely located in one plane from two opposite sides on a single stem, not exceeding five centimeters in length.

Did you know? Surprising is the fact that living cells of mnium leaves are also located in the same plane. In other words, the sheet has the smallest possible thickness - only one cell.

In dry weather, the leaves of mnium wrinkle extremely and greatly decrease in size. The sporogon has an oval box hanging from a yellowish-red stem, no more than 3 centimeters long. In a capsule, from 17 to 30 spores can ripen (depending on the variety).

Mnium is widespread everywhere, mainly in forests, while preferring densely planted pine forest with moist soil. It often settles on stones and old stumps, forming bright green thickets.

In pine forests and spruce forests (always with an admixture of pine) you can find one of the most graceful bryophytes - ptylium. Despite its ubiquitous distribution, it almost never forms a continuous blanket on the ground, preferring more to settle at the base of trees, forming single, but dense thickets of pale yellow or yellow-green color with a silky sheen.
The ptilium has an average height of stems (can reach 20 centimeters), from which many densely arranged branches with leaves depart in opposite directions. In their appearance, these formations resemble a bird's feather or fern leaves. The leaves of this moss, in contrast to the mnium, are very small, narrow (up to 1 mm), pointed, with many longitudinal folds.

The spore capsule is cylindrical, slightly flattened, almost always horizontal. The sporogon's leg is red, 2 to 5 centimeters long. The number of spores in a box is from 10 to 14 pieces.

There are many different landscapes in the forest zone. These are forest thickets, hilly meadows, fields, and even rock massifs. However, the swamp is a special, unique world of its kind! It has been forming for tens of years, and can live for millennia, while constantly expanding and capturing more and more new territories.

Surprisingly, it is moss that contributes to this. More precisely, its representatives are sphagnids. Sphagnum, also called white or peat moss, is a genus that unites more than forty species of marsh mosses, each of which can be reliably identified only through microscopic examination.
It is a small, bundle-like branching stem, covered with small leaves arranged in a spiral. The color of the plant varies from yellowish green to purplish red (depending on the variety). Rhizoids are absent on the lower (underwater) part of the stem.

Sphagnum possesses a number of unusual properties that distinguish it from other bryophytes. The first feature is that the sphagnum stem only grows upward.

In this case, the lower part of the stem (usually located under water) dies off, turning into peat, at approximately the same rate as the upper part (about one millimeter per year). This way of existence can provide a lifespan of more than one thousand years (for reference: other mosses live no more than 10 years).

Did you know? The Vitmoor swamp (Germany) has a peat layer of about 18 meters in depth,and its age is about 2000 years.

The next feature of sphagnids is that they synthesize acids that prevent the development of bacteria, which significantly slows down the decay processes in swamps, and contributes to the formation of peat. An acidic environment, moreover, oppresses competitors and allows them to capture new living spaces.

Another property of sphagnum is the ability to absorb and retain water due to the presence of special cells with a porous structure. During periods of high humidity, this moss is able to accumulate huge amounts of liquid, which also leads to a shift in the water balance and the capture of new territories.

Rhodobrium, or rosette-like rhodobrium, is another representative of leafy mosses, which can be found in the coniferous forest (mainly spruce). If the coniferous litter is well moistened, rhodobrium is found on it in the form of many small bunches of dark green color - rosettes of leaves, slightly raised above the ground, each on its own stalk.
The stem is single, up to 10 cm in height, can have branching shoots both in the upper (apical) and in the lower (underground) parts. Apical shoots often sprout through the rosette. In the ground part, the stem is covered with a rhizoid fluff.

The leaves of rhodobrium have an ovoid-elongated shape, reach 10 mm in length, are slightly curled, and are pointed closer to the apex. Each bunch can collect from 15 to 20 leaves. Leaves of this size are considered to be quite large compared to other leafy mosses.

If you look at the rhodobrium rosette from the side, you can note its resemblance to a palm tree. Spore pods rise above a rosette on thick red legs, are oblong and can carry up to 18 spores.

This species is widespread in the taiga zone of mid-southern latitudes, less often in the north. Listed in the Red Book.

This moss is very widespread. It is often found in coniferous forests, and often it is he who forms the basis of the moss cover of forest soils. It gravitates more towards the northern regions, there is a lot of it in the permafrost regions and the deserts of the Arctic.

Did you know? Buddhist monks created entire gardens of moss, the most famous of which is located in a monastery near Kyoto and is listed as a UNESCO cultural heritage.

Hylocomium has a multistage arcuate stem up to 20 centimeters long, usually red in color. Each new arc corresponds to the next year of plant development and is laid just below the top of last year's arc.

The formed stem arch branches strongly in three or four places, forming a stepped obliquely ascending structure. The stem and its branches are densely covered with leaves, which are tiny green scales that are difficult to distinguish with the eye due to their size.
Spores Gylocomium in spring. The sporogon forms at the top of last year's stem just above the young green shoot. A slightly curved, ovoid sporogon capsule located on a low reddish stalk stores 12 to 17 spores.

Thus, mosses are a completely independent and amazing kingdom in its diversity in the common world of plants. You can devote your whole life to studying them, and still, many secrets will remain unsolved.

One thing is certain: if there were no mosses, our planet would be completely different, because it is these plants that provide for many biological processes, and even our civilized life practically cannot do without them.

Mosses and lichens are the oldest flora on earth, which appeared more than 300 million years ago. Almost all types of mosses are used in medicine as an irreplaceable source of medicines, and some are even used in construction, due to their low thermal conductivity. The science dealing with the study of bryophytes is called bryology; it has about 10,000 types and 100 families.

Sphagnum mosses

Among all types of mosses, sphagnum is the most famous. Most often it can be found in swampy areas. Upon closer examination, it can be seen that the lower part of the sphagnum looks dry and yellowish, at the same time the upper part is moist and green. This is due to a lack of oxygen and nutrients. The dead part of the moss decomposes and turns into peat, which serves as a fertilizer for sphagnum, and at the same time is used by people in the production of fuel. Representatives of this species are:

1. Baltic sphagnum.
2. Coastal.
3. Protruding.
4. Slotted and others.

All varieties of sphagnum, of which there are more than 300, have a mass useful properties... They are widely used in medicine for their ability to disinfect wounds and draw out pus from them. Sphagnum-gauze dressings are applied to areas of the skin that have been burned or frostbite. When a splint is applied to a broken limb, moss can be used as a material that prevents the dressing from rubbing against the skin, and at the same time has a moisturizing effect.

On top of that, sphagnum has antifungal properties. Insoles made with it will help to reduce perspiration. Sphagnum perfectly absorbs liquid, and is able to absorb 20 times more water than its mass. Thanks to this property, it copes with bleeding even better than cotton wool, since it does not form a crust when it dries, allowing the skin to breathe.

Sphagnum is also used in the construction of timber houses. They close all joints and crevices between the logs, which helps to maintain the temperature in the room. A bathhouse built on this principle will last much longer and will keep warm perfectly. Gardeners use sphagnum to fertilize their plants. Moss, crushed and mixed with the soil, will make it many times more fertile. And if you put sphagnum soaked in water on the bottom of a flower pot, you can safely not water the plant for several weeks, without fear that it will dry out.

It is quite difficult to grow sphagnum at home, but if desired, it is quite possible. For more efficient growth, it is necessary to create conditions that are as similar as possible to the natural environment. A dark and damp place is suitable for swampy sphagnum, and a light and moderately moist place for forest moss. Neither one nor the other tolerates an overabundance of minerals in both water and soil. Therefore, it is better to water it with distilled or rain water, and sawdust can be used as soil.

Liver mosses

Liverworts are a separate class of bryophytes, which includes several subspecies. They got their name due to their unusual shape, resembling a liver. The liverworts are found mainly in places with a tropical or subtropical climate. Representatives of this species most often have a long stem and leaves.

Pellia is considered one of the most beautiful types of liverworts. This extremely rare plant can only be found in the swampy areas of Thailand or China. To grow it at home, you will need an aquarium, since its habitat is reservoirs. Pellia moss can grow on wood, sand and even stone, but it does not attach well due to the lack of the necessary villi, so the best solution would be to fix it yourself with fishing line or thread. An expanded colony will already be able to support itself. It should be borne in mind that the stems of pellia are very fragile, therefore, where the moss grows, there should be no large and even more herbivorous fish. In general, pellias can be a great decoration for your aquarium if you care for them properly.

The flowers of the liverworts are actively used in medicine. They are used to make antibacterial agents and medicines for migraines. Dried shoots of moss are ground into powder and added to food in a few grams. Tinctures with the addition of liverwort contribute to better digestion, excretion of bile from the body, increased sweating.

The liverworts are able to reproduce both sexually and vegetatively. Some types of moss can reproduce exclusively by spores. Because liverworts are an all-encompassing class that includes mosses and lichens of various types, most members of the species can be very different from each other.

Leafy mosses

This class includes more than 10 thousand varieties of mosses. Its most famous representative is the cuckoo flax, known to everyone from the school curriculum. You can find him in almost any forest. Outwardly, the cuckoo flax looks like a small tree, as it grows mainly upward and has many sharp leaves. In favorable conditions, a moss colony can grow to incredible sizes, preventing another plant from breaking through. However, in the natural environment, this is quite rare, for example, when moss falls on freshly burnt soil, on which nothing has yet had time to grow. If you plant a cuckoo flax in your garden, in the future you will have to pull it out for a long time and tediously.

When the moss flowers begin to bloom, at the very top of the stem, a small box of seeds appears, closed with a lid. The ripe box opens, and the wind carries the seeds, from which new shoots will then grow. Due to the fact that the cuckoo flax is a rather aggressive species, capable of actively growing in conditions of moist soil and good lighting, it is considered a pest among foresters.

Since ancient times, cuckoo flax has been indispensable in the construction of wooden huts and baths. This is due to the fact that it is the most common among all types of mosses, in addition, it has long stems, from 10 cm to 1.5 m. Dried cuckoo flax is tied into a strong net with a thickness of 2 cm and placed between the logs.

Andrew's mosses

Mosses belonging to this class live in cold places with temperatures ranging from -5 ° C. They are quite tough, small and have straight leaves. Thin moss fibers allow them to penetrate and take root in the pores of stones, forming a kind of cushions, therefore, they can most often be found on the surface of rocks and granite soils.

In total, the species has about 100 representatives, including the centipede dicranum and rosette rhodobrium. Only 10 species are found on the territory of Russia. They reproduce mainly vegetatively.

Oak moss

Evernia plum, or, as it is usually called, oak moss, lives in places with a temperate and northern climate, growing in mountain forests on the branches and trunks of oak, fir, pine or spruce. Oakmoss has a bushy, soft thallus and is able to change its color depending on conditions. So, for example, during a drought it can be dark red or light yellow, and in warm summer weather it can be pale white or blue.

Oakmoss has strong allergenic properties, however, despite this, it is allowed to be used in small quantities in the production of perfumes. The tart coniferous smell is very much in demand among perfumers. Previously, herbalists used it to scare away wolves and foxes. IN traditional medicine oak moss is also appreciated, because the tincture from its oil can cure a lot of diseases.

Decorative use

Mosses and lichens have been widely used in Japanese gardens since ancient times. Moss thickets give sculptures and buildings a majestic, artificially aged look. Already, in many areas, you can see whole compositions using it. In fact, mosses and lichens are not very whimsical plants, so even those who are not at all familiar with gardening can plant them on their own.

For those who are not at all versed in the types of moss, it is best to purchase it in a nursery. People who understand this will tell you which type is better to take. If there is no such thing nearby, you can order in the online store or negotiate with a gardener who is engaged in the cultivation of mossy plants.

On the lawn, the moss will look no worse than ordinary grass. Before planting, the soil should be cleaned of other plants and also leveled. If the ground has bumps and depressions, the moss will only accentuate them. To save money, you can divide it into small pieces and plant it at a distance of several centimeters. If he takes root, he will surely fill in all areas. After planting, the moss should be crushed with something like a board so that it goes into the ground more tightly.

Breeding moss on smooth stones is a little more difficult. He needs time to properly fix. However, with porous stones, everything is much easier. The plant feels the best on them. The first time after planting the moss needs a lot of moisture. It is necessary to water it every day for a month. In order not to damage the moss that has not yet fully taken root, it is better to use a spray nozzle for a hose or a regular watering can. Kefir is suitable as a fertilizer, since it contains a sufficient number of bacteria that have a positive effect on growth.

You can also make a special mixture of milk and moss in a blender. After that, you need to pour the resulting cocktail into a spray bottle or into an ordinary jar. Such a solution is a real living paint, which is very popular among landscape designers.

Conclusion

In general, mosses and lichens are amazing plant species with many uses. So, for example, drugs made on their basis are highly effective, and architectural structuresovergrown with moss always look elegant and authentic. Many thousands of years later, people are still discovering new properties of these amazing creations of nature, which have already become simply irreplaceable for humans.

Mosses and lichens Are one hundred percent pioneers of space. They were the first to "come out" on land, adapted to life on it, and also became material for the formation of humus. In addition, mosses and lichens are at the core of plant evolution.

What are mosses and lichens

• Mosses - these are higher spore plants that belong to the Mossy Department of the Plant Kingdom.
• Lichens - lower plants formed by the symbiosis of fungi and bacteria.

Comparison of mosses and lichens

What is the difference between mosses and lichens?

Mosses appeared on Earth at the end of the Devonian - at the beginning of the Carboniferous period. Mosses are found on all continents, including Antarctica. The only condition necessary for the life of mosses is the presence of a sufficient amount of moisture required to organize the reproduction process.

Lichens appeared in the early Devonian. They are common on all continents and were able to adapt to life and rise to the maximum height for plants in mountainous regions.

Mosses Are miniature plants. They have no roots, so they are attached to the substrate using multicellular hair-like processes - rhizoids. In addition to being fixed in the soil, rhizoids play the role of delivering water and nutrients to the body. But these same substances can enter the plant through the stem and leaves. The leaves and stems of mosses contain chlorophyll, becoming a site for the photosynthesis process.

Lichens Are amazing plants. Their body - thallus - is formed by the cohabitation of fungi and algae. But forcibly separated components of the lichen organism are able to exist independently. In the lichen thallus, fungal hyphae form the upper and lower crust. And in the middle, like the filling in a pie, there are algae. It is they who are engaged in photosynthesis, possessing the pigment chlorophyll. Lichens have no roots. As a result of life processes, fungal hyphae release acid, destroying the substrate to which they are attached.

Mosses Are dioecious plants. Females have organs containing eggs at their tops, and male organisms have organs containing sperm. These are sporophytes, one of two generations that predominates in the life cycle of mosses. After pollination, a sporangium forms on the female plant. In it, spores mature, which, falling into a humid environment, germinate. From this green thread - the gametophyte - new female and male individuals grow over time.

Lichens can reproduce vegetatively, asexually and sexually, forming characteristic fruiting bodies.
Moss retains water in the soil, sometimes swamping it. Mosses were the first dressing material and are the basis for the formation of peat.

Without carrying air pollution, lichens have become ideal indicators of the state of the air. Lichens are considered biological destroyers of rocks and the basis of the process of soil formation.

The difference between mosses and lichens is as follows:

• Lichens appeared on Earth earlier than mosses and have a wider distribution area.
• Moss is a single organism, lichen is a conglomerate of organisms capable of independent existence.
• Mosses are at a higher evolutionary stage of development than lichens.
• Both plants have different biological and economic values.

Department of bryophytes - these are the highest spore plants, the species diversity of which reaches 20 thousand. The study of mosses has been going on for many centuries, the scientists who study them were nicknamed bryologists, they founded a separate botanical branch dedicated to bryophytes - bryology. Bryology - the science of mosses, studies the structure, reproduction and development of bryophytes (actually mosses, liverworts, anthocerotes).

General characteristics of mosses

Moss - general characteristics

Mossy - one of the oldest plants that inhabit our planet. Remains are found in fossils from the end of the Paleozoic era. The distribution of mosses is associated with a preference for a humid environment and shaded areas, so most inhabit the northern part of the Earth. They do not take root well in saline areas and deserts.

Classes of bryophytes

Leafy mosses - the most numerous class. Plants are composed of stem, leaves and rhizoids.

Stem can grow vertically or horizontally, divided into bark and main tissue (contains water, starch, chloroplasts for photosynthesis).

Stem cells can give rise to filamentous processes - rhizoidsare necessary for anchorage to soil and water absorption. They are more often found at the base of the stem, but can cover it along its entire length.

Leavessimple, often attached to the stem at right angles, in a spiral. The leaf blades are equipped with chloroplasts; a vein is located in the center (serves for carrying nutrients).

Deciduous mosses can multiply by stems, buds, branches that shoot, thus forming solid carpets of mosses covering the ground. The class of leafy plants includes sphagnum (they have a varied color of the stem - light green, yellow, red), andreevye and brievye mosses.

Liverworts found on coasts, swamps, rocky terrain. Distinctive features: leaves have no vein, dorsoventral structure, a special mechanism of sporophyte opening.

The leaves are arranged in rows, have two lobes (the lower lobe is often curled up and serves as a reservoir for water), the rhizoid processes are unicellular. During the rash of spores, the sporophyte capsule opens into separate valves, and elaters (spring formations) contribute to the dispersal of cells.

Reproduction can be carried out with the help of buds (vegetatively), which are formed at the upper pole of the leaves. Representatives of the class Pellia endievifolia, Miliya anomalous, Moss Marshantia, etc.

Anthocerot mosses inhabit the tropical zone. The multinucleated body (thallus) has a rosette shape, consists of cells of the same type. In the upper balls of the cells are chromatophores (contain a dark green pigment). The lower part of the thallus gives rise to processes, rhizoids, the body itself forms cavities filled with a viscous fluid that maintains constant moisture.

On the surface of the thallus, under unfavorable conditions, tubers are formed that are resistant to low humidity; after a period of drought, they form a new generation. Plants are monoecious, reproductive organs develop in the thallus, the sporophyte stage is predominant. The anthoceros include folioceros, anthoceros, notothilas, etc.

How do mosses breed?

There is an alternation of asexual and sexual reproduction in the life cycle of mosses. The asexual period begins with the formation of spores and their germination on moist soil (a pre-growth is formed, a thin thread that gives life to males and females). There are two types of mosses:

Monoecious - male and female reproductive organs are on the same plant.

Dioecious - reproductive organs are found in different sexes.

After spore germination, the life cycle of the moss enters the sexual phase. The organs of sexual reproduction are antheridia (male) and archegonia (female). Representatives of males are weaker than females, smaller in size, after the formation of antheridia they die off.

Spermatozoa are formed on male plants, eggs on female plants, after their fusion a zygote is formed (located on a female, it feeds an immature sporophyte), which further develops into sporangia. After the sporangium ripens, it opens up, spores pour out of it - the asexual reproduction period of mosses begins again.

Reproduction of offspring is possible in a vegetative way, mosses form thalli (green branches), buds, tubers, which take root well on wet soil.

What is the significance of the dispute in the life of mosses?

Spores are cells that mosses need to reproduce. Moss plants do not bloom, do not have roots, therefore, for the continuation of the genus, they have formed a sporophyte with sporangia (the place of maturation of spores).

The sporophyte has a short life cycle, after drying, the spores scatter around, and when it gets on wet soil, they quickly take root. They can survive for a long time under unfavorable conditions, without germinating, resistant to low and high temperatures, prolonged droughts.

The value of mosses in nature and human life

Mosses are food for many invertebrates.

After dying off, they give deposits of peat, which is necessary in the production of plastics, resins, carbolic acid, and is used as fuel or fertilizer.

Moss completely covers the ground in places of growth, which leads to the accumulation of moisture and waterlogging of the territory. Thus, the germination of other vegetation becomes impossible. At the same time, they prevent erosion, soil destruction by surface waters and winds. When the mosses die off, they take part in the formation of the soil.

They are able to grow in places of fires, persistent and hardy, they inhabit the territory of the tundra (the main plant background, since other plants cannot survive in such conditions).

In wartime, sphagnum moss was used as a dressing because of its bactericidal properties and ability to absorb moisture.

With the help of mosses, you can navigate the terrain: they do not like light, therefore they are located on the shady side of stones and trees. Moss points the man to the north.

In construction, they are used as an insulating, insulating material.