Seedless Plants Mosses and Liverworts Ferns Horsetails and

Seedless Plants §Mosses and Liverworts §Ferns, Horsetails, and Club Mosses

Mosses and Liverworts § Small § Live on bark, rocks, and soil § No vascular system § Must live in places that are wet § No true roots, stems, or leaves

Mosses

Liverworts

Mosses and Liverworts § Live together in large groups § Covering soil or rocks in a mat of tiny green plants § Each moss has rhizoids (rootlike structures) § Rhizoids help anchor the plant

Importance of Mosses and Liverworts: § Usually the first plants to inhabit a new environment. § Form a thin layer of soil when they die. § They help hold the soil in place which prevents erosion. § Nesting material for birds. § Peat moss can be burned as fuel.

Ferns, Horsetails, and Club Mosses: § Grow tall § Have vascular systems

Ferns

Ferns § Can grow almost anywhere. § Have an underground stem called a rhizome. § Leaves are called fronds.

Horsetails

Horsetails § Small vascular plants. § Grow less than 1. 3 meters tall. § Grow in wet, marshy places. § Stems are hollow and contain cilia. § Pioneers used them to scrub pots and pans.

Club Mosses § 25 cm tall. § Grow in woodlands. § Unlike other mosses, they have vascular tissue.

Importance of Seedless Vascular Plants § Help form soil when they die. § Also hold soil in place to prevent erosion. § Ferns serve as house plants. § Some are cooked and eaten. § Formed coal.