CONTENT

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Mosses belong to the group of plants call Bryophytes which never produce
flowers or seeds. They have a long history of evolution compared to flowering
plants, with fossil record dated back 440 million years ago in the Silurian period.
Most of the mosses are small, non-vascular, land plants, but some may be as large
as 35cm tall and some are semi-aquatic.
The mosses share a unique life cycle in having a first generation of
dominant gametophyte. The gametophyte forms the green leafy structure we
ordinarily associate with moss. Mosses are essentially land plants, and they
depend on a film of water for the male cell (spermatozoid) to be transported to the
female cell, both which are produced on the gametophyte. When conditions are
right, the next generation, the sporophyte or spore-bearing structure is grown.
The sporophyte is typically acapsule growing on the end of a stalk called the seta.
The sporophyte has

no

chlorophyl

and

it

grows

parasitically

on

its gametophyte mother. The sporophyte dries out and releases spores that grow
into

new

generation

of gametophytes,

if

they

germinate.

In general, when we are talking about mosses, we are generally referring to

the gametophyte generation of the mosses' life cycle.
Mosses do not have veins to transport water and food, instead, all parts of
the plant are used to absord water and nutrients. Hence, mosses are found mostly
at

places

where

there

are

consistent

supply

of

water.

Mosses

have rhizoids instead of roots, which are branched threads. While the rhizoids can
absorb water, they are mainly used to anchor the plant.

CHAPTER II
Classification of Mosses
Division
Anthocerotop
hyta
(Hornwortsh)

Class
Anthocerotop
sida
Class
Andreaeopsi
da (Granite
mosses)

Order
Andreales
Order
Andreaebri
ales
Order
Funariales

Superdivi
sion
Bryophyt
es
Kingdom
Plantae

Division
Bryophyta
(Mosses)

Superdivis
ion
Pteridoph
ytes
Superdiviso
n
Spermatoph
ytes
Divison
Hepatoph
yta
(Liverwort
s)

Order
Bryales
Class
Bryopsida
(True
mosses)

Class
Sphagnop
sida
(Peat
Mosses)
Class
Hepatopsi
da

Order
Buxbaumi
ales
Order
Polytrical
es
Order
Tetraphid
ales
Order
Sphagnale
s

Family
Andreacea
e
Family
Andreaebriace
ae
Family
Funariace
ae
Family
Bryaceae
Family
Buxbaumiac
eae
Family
Polytricac
eae
Family
Tetraphidac
eae
Family
Sphagnac
eae

ORDER SPHAGNALES
The Sphagnales is an order of moss with only four living genera:
Ambuchanania, Eosphagnum, Flatbergium, and Sphagnum

Figure: a clump of Sphagnum, peat moss

FAMILY SPHAGNACEAE
This family of this plant grows in swamps where the temperature is lower
at high altitudes, such as in Dieng. Hyaline cell wall has a ring-shaped or spiral

thickening, hyaline cells that hold water. Peat moss leaves have a straight trunk
and branches forming a rosette at the end. The sporogonium short-stemmed with
foot haustorium (tool nutrient absorption) which later developed into
pseudopodium. It spore capsule has closed but there are no peristome. Columella
is hemispherical.

Figure: Sphagnum fimbriatum

ANDREALES
This order of plants reddish brown to greenish brown forming small tufts.
The leaves falcate to secund-falcate, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate. This order
have the strong costa , laminal papillae.for the other characteristisc also include to
dioicous, where the calyptras is tiny, campanulate-mitrate, seta lacking,
sporophytes immersed to emergent on a gametophytic pseudopodium, peristome
and operculum absent.

Figure.Andreaea nivalis Hook

FAMILY ADREACEAE
This plants of this family is reddish brown to greenish brown forming
small tufts. Leaves falcate to secund-falcate, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, 0.6
1.5 mm long, median cells quadrate to short-rectangular, 1+ stratose, papillose,
710

m in diameter, costa strong, percurrent, margins crenulate to strongly

denticulate. Dioicous, perichaetial leaves similar to the vegetative leaves but

sometimes slightly larger, calyptra tiny, campanulate-mitrate, seta lacking,
sporophytes immersed to emergent on a gametophytic pseudopodium, reddish
brown to blackish up to 0.9 mm long when closed, peristome and operculum
absent, opening by 46 longitudinal slits. Spores 1840 m. Distinctive characters:
(1) strong costa, (2) distinct crenulate to strongly denticulate leaf margins, (3)
laminal papillae.
Habitat
Known from Greenland, Europe, Japan, and Russia. In the Pacific
Northwest, found in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and
California. Oregon Natural Heritage Information Center reports it from
Clackamas and Lane Counties. In general Andreaea is often overlooked due to its

small size and is probably under collected because of its higher elevation
tendencies. Habitat Associations: Andreaea nivalis forms reddish-brown mats on
amp boulders in streamlet gullies, exposed rock outcrops, boulders next to melting
snow, dry cliffs, sandy soil over boulders, and damp cliff faces in alpine to
subalpine areas in the Pacific Northwest. Although referred to as a granite moss
this genus often occurs on igneous rocks. It may form large mats or small patches
and may or may not be abundant when found.

Figure. Andreae rupestris

ORDER ANDREBRIALES
The distribution restricted to the northwestern part of Canada and adjacent
Alaska, grows on calcareous rocks, in colder climates, contrasting with the acidic
granite preference of Andreaea.
ORDER FUNARIALES
The order consists of two families, Disceliaceae , with a single species,
and Funariaceae . Some species are annual and only grow for a few weeks when

conditions permit. An order of the true mosses (subclass Bryidae). The Funariales,
often annuals or biennials and sometimes ephemeral, are for the most part
characterized by a uniformity of gametophytic structure in contrast to a variability
of sporophytic characters. Reduction in sporophytic characters is often associated
with disturbed habitats and a shortened life cycle.
FAMILY FUNARIACEAE
This family of the plant minute to medium size which usually growing on
soil. This also have light-green or yellow of color which gregarious of forming
loose tufts. This have the long seta, slender is tough, reddish brown, stalk-like
structure and the leaves, apex is acute to acuminate, costa single, smooth and
rather thin-walled.

Funaria hygrometrica

Life Cycle
This family have the same reproduction too vwith the common life cycle
of the moses like this figure below.

Figure: The ife cycle of family funariaceae

ORDER BRYALES
This order is tree mosses which resemble small evergreen trees and are
found in damp, shady places throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The branches
clustered at the top of the shoot. The reddish-brown capsules (spore cases), borne
on the female plant, have lids with long beaks and mature in the fall.

Bryum capillare

FAMILY BRYACEAE

Plants aquatic, forming loose floating mats, trailing from a single point of
attachment, light to dark green. Stems usually elongate. The leaves unistratose,
rather flaccid. Seta very short. Capsule immersed to emergent, oval cylindrical.
Habitat
Usually attached to submerged rocks and wood in slow to fast flowing
streams or in ponds, but may be exposed for short periods when water levels drop.
South African plants are believed to be introductions from Europe
ORDER BUXBAUMIALES
Buxbaumia (Bug moss, Bug-on-a-stick, Humpbacked elves, or Elf-cap
moss) is a genus of twelve species of mosss (Bryophyta). It was named in 1801 by
Johann Hedwigg to commemorate Johann Christian Buxbaumm, a German
physician and botanist who discovered the moss in 1712 at the mouth of the Volga
Riverr. The moss is microscopic for most of its existence, and plants are
noticeable only after they begin to produce their reproductive structures. The
asymmetrical spore capsule has a distinctive shape and structure, some features of
which appear to be transitional from those in primitive mosses to most modern
mosses.

Figure : Buxbaumia viridis

Plants of Buxbaumia have a much reduced gametophyte, bearing a

sporophyte that is enormous by comparison. In most mosses, the gametophyte
stage of the life cycle is both green and leafy, and is substantially larger than the
spore-producing stage. Unlike these other mosses, the gametophyte of Buxbaumia
is microscopic, colorless, stemless, and nearly leafless. It consists exclusively of
thread-like protonemata for most of its existence, resembling a thin green-black
felt on the surface where it grows.The plants are dioicous, with separate plants
producing the male and female organs.Male plants develop only one microscopic
leaf around each antheridium, and female plants produce just three or four tiny
colorless leaves around each archegonium.
Because of its small size, the gametophyte stage is not generally noticed
until the stalked sporangium develops, and is locatable principally because the
sporangium grows upon and above the tiny gametophyte. The extremely reduced
state of Buxbaumia plants raises the question of how it makes or obtains sufficient
nutrition for survival. In contrast to most mosses, Buxbaumia does not produce
abundant chlorophyll and is saprophytic.It is possible that some of its nutritional
needs are met by fungi that grow within the plant.
The sporophyte at maturity is between 4 and 11 mm tall. The spore capsule
is attached at the top of the stalk and is distinctive, being asymmetric in shape and
oblique in attachment. As with most other Bryopsida, the opening through which
the spores are released is surrounded by a double peristome (diplolepidious)
formed from the cell walls of disintegrated cells. The exostome (outer row)
consists of 16 short articulated "teeth". Unlike most other mosses, the endostome
(inner row) does not divide into teeth, but rather is a continuous pleated
membrane around the capsule opening.Only the genus Diphyscium has a similar
peristome structure, although that genus has only 16 pleats in its endostome, in
contrast to the 32 pleats in Buxbaumia. Diphyscium shares with Buxbaumia one
other oddity of the sporophyte; the foot (stalk base) ramifies as a result of
outgrowths, so much so that they may be mistaken for rhizoids.

Habitat
Species of Buxbaumia may be found across much of the temperate to
subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, as well as cooler regions of
Australia and New Zealand.

Figure : Sporophytes of Buxbaumia aphylla growing among other mosses. None

of the visible leaves belong to Buxbaumia, which is a stemless and nearly leafless
plant

The moss is an annual or biennial plant and grows in disturbed habitats or

as a pioneer species. The plants grow on decaying wood, rock outcrops, or
directly on the soil. They do not grow regularly or reliably at given locations, and
frequently disappear from places where they have previously been found.
Sporophyte stages begin their development in the autumn, and are green through
the winter months. Spores are mature and ready for dispersal by the late spring or
early summer. The spores are ejected from the capsule in puffs when raindrops fall
upon the capsule's flattened top.
The asymmetric sporophytes of Buxbaumia aphylla develop so that the
opening is oriented towards the strongest source of light, usually towards the
south.The species often grows together with the diminutive liverwort
Cephaloziella, which forms a blackish crust that is easier to spot than Buxbaumia
itself.

ORDER POLYTRICALES

This order have the best mosses vascular system to transport water from the
ground leaves, stems cells having specialized in transporting water and plant
epidermis waterproofing, so that unlike typical mosses where water is transported
by capillarity through the epidermis, the transport in these species is internal.
FAMILY POLYTRICACEAE
The Polytrichaceae is a common family of mosses. Members of this family
tend to be larger than other mosses with a thickened central stem and a rhizome.
The leaves have a midrib that bears lamellae on the upper surface. Species in this
group are dioicous. Another characteristic that identifies them is that they have
from 32 to 64 peristome teeth in their sporangium.
A thickened central stem and a rhizome. The leaves have a midrib that bears
lamellae on the upper surface. In this family the hard leaves with lamellar many
expansions will make the sheet retains water surface and increase photosynthesis.
Habitat
This moss live wildly and become the common hair cap moss that is easy to
find. Preferring to live in lightly shaded areas with moist slightly acidic soil, it
can also survive in areas of full sunlight provided the soil is moist. The common
hair cap moss can also grow in areas of poor soil and slow drainage
Reproduction
The female shoots develop the eggs and the male shoots develop the sperm.
In the spring, raindrops splash the sperm from the male shoots to the female
shoots where they then travel into the egg. During the summer spores are released
and carried by the wind. When the spore reaches a habitat it can survive in, it
germinates and the process starts over again

One of the example of this family is Polytrichum commune

Kingdom : Plantae
Phylum : Bryophyta

Genus

:Polytrichum

Species

: Polytrichum
commune

Life Cycle of Polytricaceae

Class

: Bryopsida

Order

: Polytrichales

Family

: Polytrichaceae

ORDER TETRAPHIDALES
This order has single family Tetraphidaceae represented by two genus
Tetraphis

and

Tetradontium.

Tetraphis

is

northen

Hemisphere

genus,

inhabitingconiferus forests. The small plants grow on decomposing wood, prat

banks and rarely on sandstone.
FAMILY TETRAPHIACEAE
The leaves are small but those on the upper stem are big bright green, ovate
and costate.This plants are monoceous, the archegonia and antheredia are on
terminal

separate

branches.This

order

has

genus:

Tetraphis

and

Tetrodontium.This moss can live in moist place that have aciditic or neutral PH.
One of the example of tetraphiaceae is Tetraphis pellucida

Kingdom:
Tetraphis
Division:
pellucida

Plantae

Bryophyta
The

Class:

Bryopsida

morphology

Tetraphis

pellucida

of
are

Stem are not rhizomes,

costa slender, capsule long-

Order:

Tetraphidales

Family:

Tetraphidales

Genus:

Tetraphis

Species:

Tetraphis
pellucida

exserted and leave small.

Division
Anthocerotop
hyta
(Hornwortsh)

Class
Anthocerotop
sida
Class
Andreaeop
sida
(Granite
mosses)

Superdivi
sion
Bryophyte
s
Kingdom
Plantae

Division
Bryophyta
(Mosses)

Superdivis
ion
Pteridoph
ytes
Superdiviso
n
Spermatoph
ytes

Class
Polytrichopsi
da

Order
Diphyscia
ales

Family
Diphysciac
eae

Order
Buxbaumi
ales

Family
Buxbaumiace
ae

Order
Polytricale
s

Family
Polytricac
eae

Order
Tetraphida
les

Family
Tetraphidac
eae

Class
Andreaeobryo
psida
Divison
Hepatoph
yta
(Liverwort
s)

Class
Hepatopsida

Actually we got another source about the mosses classification, here below the
graph.

Andreaeopsida the granite mosses

This is a small, cool-climate class of siliceous-rockdwelling mosses
(Schofield 1985), again with only one genus, but with approximately 100 species.
They are typically blackish or reddish, brittle, and short (Figure 1). One can
recognize them by rubbing one's hand across them and discovering small
fragments stuck to the hand. The leaves are but one cell thick, but some species
have a multiple cell thickness in the center, forming a costa. The arrangement of
leaves is multi-ranked. Unlike most mosses, they have a thalloid protonema. The
capsule is reminiscent of liverworts, opening in four valves, but having the tips
remaining attached to each other, making it look like those paper lanterns we
made as children for Halloween (Figure 2). Unlike the liverworts, it lacks elaters.
And unlike most liverworts and Bryopsida, it lacks a seta and has a gametophyte

pseudopodium, a character in common with Sphagnopsida, a stalk produced at

capsule maturity from the gametophyte tissue. Of ecological significance, it is
autoicous (having male and female reproductive organs in separate clusters on the
same plant). This ensures there will be others around to accomplish fertilization.

Figure 2. Andreaea rupestris, Class Andreaeopsida,

gametophyte with sporophyte showing four valves of capsule and
pseudopodium of gametophyte.

Andreaeobryopsida
This class likewise is comprised of a single genus, Andreaeobryum (Figure
3), which has been considered by most to belong to the Andreaeopsida, but
recently separated in the treatment by Buck and Goffinet (2000). It differs in being
dioicous (having male and female reproductive organs on separate plants) and
possessing a seta. Its calyptra is larger, covering the capsule, and the capsule is
valvate, but unlike the Andreaeopsida, the apex erodes, so the valves are free, not
joined at the apex. The distribution is narrow, restricted to the northwestern part of
Canada and adjacent Alaska, where it grows on calcareous rocks, contrasting with
the acidic granite preference of Andreaea.

Figure
3. Andreaeobryum macrosporum with valvate capsules. Photo from Biology 321
Course Website, http://www.botany.ubc.ca/bryophyte/LAB6b.htm.
Polytrichopsida
With bryophytes, the determination of primitive or advanced often
depends on the generation being examined. The gametophyte may have changed
considerably while some set of characters of the sporophyte remained constant.
And of course, the reverse can be true. The dioicous condition (male and female
reproductive organs on separate plants) that characterizes Polytrichopsida is
considered to be primitive (Longton & Schuster 1983), with the monoicous
condition (male and female reproductive organs on the same plant) that is so
frequent in Bryopsida typically being derived by doubling of the chromosome
number. Likewise, nematodontous peristome teeth (having evenly thickened walls
and whole dead cells lacking eroded walls, Figure 4) of Polytrichopsida would
seem to be an earlier development than the arthrodontous condition of Bryopsida.
All members of the class possess an elongate sporophyte seta, supporting an
operculate peristomate capsule, and a columnar columella, characters that are
more advanced than in Sphagnopsida but typical in Bryopsida. Spores are
produced by meiosis in a single event in sporogenous tissue that surrounds the
columella (Figure 5).

Figure 4. Nematodontous peristome teeth of Tetraphis pellucida

(Polytrichopsida). Note the separation at the tips. Photo from Biology 321 Course
Website, www.botany.ubc.ca/ bryophyte/LAB6b.htm.

Figure 5. Cross section of immature Polytrichum capsule showing sporogenous

tissue. Photo by Janice Glime.

The gametophyte is often very

specialized, being characterized by
stems

with

central

strand,

reaching its peak in Polytrichaceae,

with the presence of hydroids
(water-conducting

cells)

and

leptoids (sugar-conducting cells).

The leaves of the class are all
costate

(having

midrib-like

structure).

Figure 6. Longitudinal section of

Polytrichum capsule.
Photo by Janice Glime.

Figure 7. Cross section of a Polytrichum stem showing green hydroids in center

and larger leptoids surrounding them. Photo by Izawa Kawai.

Polytrichaceae
In many ways, this family looks like a tracheophyte wanna-be. It attains a
greater height than the typical moss and can even stand alone to nearly half a
meter in the case of Dawsonia superba. Polytrichum commune likewise attains
similar heights, but only with the support of other individuals, forming a
hummock.

Figure 8. Dawsonia superba from New South Wales, Australia. Photo by

Janice Glime.
The Polytrichaceae lead the way to complexity with their unusual leaf
structure, possessing vertical lamellae (vertical tiers of cells like the pages of an
open book; (Figure 9) that provide an interior somewhat resembling that of a
maple leaf. In fact, in the genus Polytrichum, some members have the outer
portion of the blade folded over the lamellae, creating an internal chamber
resembling palisade mesophyll surrounded with epidermis. The cuticle (in this
case, a waxy, water-repellant covering on the outer surface of the leaf; Proctor
1979) of Polytrichum is more developed than in most other bryophytes, and
Polytrichum seems to repel water from its leaves rather than to absorb it (Figure
10), a phenomenon that may prevent the spaces among the lamellae from flooding
that would block access of CO2 to the chloroplasts within. Its rhizoids function
not only for anchorage, but also seem to facilitate external water movement.
Figure 9. Leaf cross sections of Polytrichopsida. Left: Stained section of
Polytrichum leaf showing vertical lamellae. Right: Hand section of
Polytrichastrum alpinum leaf showing lamellae with papillose terminal cells.
Photos by Janice Glime.

Figure 10. Polytrichum juniperinum with waxy leaves that

roll over the lamellae. Photo by Janice Glime.
In some mosses, like Polytrichum, the antheridia are in splash cups or
platforms (rosette of leaves from which reproductive units such as sperm,
gemmae, or spores can be splashed by raindrops; Figure 11), and when the sperm
(male reproductive cells; male gametes) are mature, the antheridium swells and
bursts during a rainy period. The bases of the antheridia, in taxa such as
Polytrichum and Atrichum, collect fluid between the sperm tissue and the
antheridial jacket (Bold et al. 1987). When the cells at the tip of the sterile jacket
open, the antheridial jacket contracts. At this time, the fluid at the bottom acts as a
hydraulic ram and forces the sperm out of the antheridium. Once in the open
water of the splash cup, the sperm are splashed from the cup. Hopefully, some of
these sperm will be splashed near the tip of a female plant (Figure 12) and will
begin swimming toward the archegonium. But it appears that the sperm of
Polytrichum

commune, and perhaps others, may have some help in this process from another
source (Harvey-Gibson & Miller Brown 1927). A variety of invertebrates visit the
male splash cups once they are fertile and get the mucilage with sperm stuck on
their bodies. While visiting the plants, the insects lap up the mucilage and lick the
saline crystals that form on the margins of the perichaetial leaves. The same
insects, bodies and limbs smeared with mucilage in which sperms were abundant
and motile, likewise appear on female plants. Now, can someone show whether
the red color of splash cups (Figure 11) in several members of this
family have the ability to attract any dispersal agents?

Figure 11. Male

plants of
Polytrichum
juniperinum
withantheridial
splash cups.
Photo by Janice
Glime.

Figure 12. Female plants of Polytrichum ohioense showing the tight leaves at the
apex where archegonia are housed. To th right of the female plants, the yellow
swollen tips are unopened antheridial splash cups. Photo by Janice Glime.

After
fertilization, the
zygote
to

divides

form

embryo

an

within

the
archegonium.
Eventually this
sporophyte
tissue forms a
foot, seta, and
capsule.

The

capsule develops within the calyptra which is the old archegonium. The calyptra is
essential for normal development in most mosses, and a split on one side can
cause asymmetrical development. In the case of Polytrichum, the calyptra is very
hairy, earning the moss the name of hairy cap moss or goldilocks moss.
Eventually the calyptra is shed, exposing the capsule. Then the operculum (lid)
must come off to permit spore dispersal. In this family the capsule has 64 short
teeth joined by a membrane (epiphragm) that covers the capsule like skin on a
drum. These small spaces permit spores to escape the capsule a few at a time,
providing maximum chances for some escaping under the right
conditions for dispersal and establishment.

Atrichum (Polytrichaceae) life cycle stages. Left: Atrichum undulatum leaves.

Middle: Atrichum undulatum antheridial splash cups. Right: Atrichum
angustatum capsules. Photos by Janice Glime.
Tetraphidaceae
Tetraphis , also in the Polytrichopsida, looks more like a typical moss than
do other Polytrichopsida, with thin, 1-cell-thick leaves and a costa. Tetraphis is
unique among mosses in having gemmae arranged in splash cups at the tips of the
stems when sexual reproduction is not in season, arguably a primitive remnant.
These gemmae are asexual bits of plant material that can grow into a new plant.
Its most unusual character is that its protonemata are not threads, but rather flaps .
Antheridia are borne terminally on the leafy plants ,as are the archegonia. The
capsule has
only

four

long,
unjoined,

nematodontous Teeth.
Protonemal flaps of Tetraphis pellucida. Photos from Biology 321
CourseWebsite,www.botany.ubc.ca/bryophyte/LAB6b.htm

Buxbaumiaceae Bug on a Stick

Buxbaumia (Figure 23) is one of the strangest of all mosses. It lacks any
leafy stem at all. Its archegonia and antheridia arise directly from the protonema.
Hence, its capsules arise directly from this persistent protonema . Its capsules,
although possessing teeth, more typically split across their broad, flattened
surface, hence exposing the spores. The capsule interior is chambered and spongy,
somewhat like a spongy mesophyll of Magnoliophyta. It typically occurs with
tiny, black leafy liverworts such as Cephalozia.

Unopened capsule of Buxbaumia aphylla,illustrating the flat side with a

beaked operculum that has earned it the common names of bug-on-a-stick and
Aladdin's lamp moss. The sporophyte originates from a protonema with no leafy
gametophyte. Photo by Michael Lth.
Diphysciaceae
Perhaps related to Buxbaumia, the moss Diphyscium has a capsule of
similar shape and lacks a leafy female stem, but the male plant of this genus has
large, strap-shaped leaves and leads an independent and separate existence.

Upper:
Diphyscium
foliosum female
plants with
young sessile
capsules among
male plants.
Photo by Janice
Glime.

Lower: Mature female Diphyscium

foliosum plants with
capsules showing peristome teeth. Photo
by Michael Lth.

CHAPTER III
CONCLUTION
Bryophyta can be considered to have
six classes: Takakiopsida, Sphagnopsida,
Andreaeopsida, Andreaeobryopsida, Polytrichopsida, and Bryopsida, differing
most consistently in capsule structure. Gametophores of Andreaeopsida,
Andreaeobryopsida, and Polytrichopsida produce archegonia and/or antheridia at
the apex and the embryo develops within the archegonium.
Sporophytes remain attached to the gametophyte and produce spores by
meiosis. These classes, and all Bryophyta, produce spores from the sporophyte
only once.
Takakiopsida, Andreaeopsida, and Andreaeobryopsida have capsules that
split into valves, but lack elaters. Sphagnopsida lacks valves and has an
operculum that is shed at dispersal time, but lacks peristome teeth. In capsules of
Polytrichopsida and Bryopsida, an operculum usually covers peristome teeth that

often aid dispersal, contrasting with liverworts wherein the capsule splits into four
valves with elaters that possibly facilitate spore movement. Polytrichopsida have
nematodontous peristome teeth; Bryopsida have arthrodontous peristome teeth.
All other classes of Bryobiotina lack peristomes. Andreaeobryopsida is dioicous
(two sexes on separate plants) and possesses a seta (stalk of capsule), whereas
Andreaeopsida is monoicous (both sexes on same plant) and lacks a seta.

REFERENCES

Bold, H. C., Alexopoulos, C. J., and Delevoryas, T. 1987.

Morphology of Plants and Fungi. Harper & Row, Publishers, Inc., New
York, NY. 912 pp.
Buck, W. R. and Goffinet, B. 2000. Morphology and classification of
mosses. In: Shaw, J. A. and Goffinet, B. (eds.). Bryophyte Biology.
Cambridge University Press, pp. 71-123.
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