Liverworts: Seedless Cousins Of Mosses But With Flowers



I am Rakshit Aswal, a recent graduate of English Hons.…
Similar to their cousins, Mosses, Liverworts are another type of non-vascular plants. But unlike mosses, these plants have flowers, which are a pretty shade of purple. Like Mosses, they produce spores for reproduction. Read on below to find out how these plants differ from Mosses.
1. They are primitive plants that often contain only a single cell layer. They are called primitive because they lack stomata, which are usually used by plants during photosynthesis.

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2. Liverworts can be divided into two broad categories: Leafy and Thalloid liverwort. Leafy liverworts are also known as simple liverwort with only one layer of cell in their entire body. On the other hand, thalloid liverworts are more complex. Their tissue is several cell layers thick. A thick tissue in a thalloid liverwort is known as a thallus.

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3. They are flat plants that can grow on any flat surface as long as there’s moisture in the air. They usually emerge over the soil and rocks, but sometimes, even on other plants!

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4. Contrary to most plants, which have alternating generations, liverworts are usually gametophytes. A sporophyte liverwort is short-lived. In fact, it depends on the gametophyte for survival.

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5. A liverwort’s body can be divided into two parts: upper and lower. The upper body is usually green (thus, it is responsible for photosynthesis in liverworts).

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6. A liverwort does not have roots. The lower body of a liverwort consists of hair-like cells known as rhizoids that absorb water and keep the plant anchored to a single place.

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7. There are almost 8000 species of liverwort in nature. Leafy liverworts are the most common type of liverworts.

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8. Liverworts are found all over the world. They are even found in Antarctica, the continent of snow! The place accounts for 25 species of the plant. They gotta’ be tough and challenging!

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9. They reproduce via spores. Unlike mosses, they do not require water for germination. The spores can also be distributed via air.

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Though liverworts are primitive plants, the efficiency of their system is testimony to the fact that it is a perfect plant. So perfect that it hasn’t evolved or even felt the need to do so over the years.
Blog Edited By Ritika Gupta
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I am Rakshit Aswal, a recent graduate of English Hons. from University of Delhi. I like to play videogames and read books while on my pursuit to experience amazing stories.