Seedless Nonvascular &

Vascular Plants

-Chapter 12-

Section 2

Pg. 304

Nonvascular Seedless Plants• All nonvascular plants are seedless

meaning…

• The plant groups in this category are mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.

• None of these plants have true stems, roots, or leaves.

• They are usually small since they have no vascular tissue.

• Typically live in damp places since they reproduce via spores.

Mosses

• They cover soil or rocks with a mat of tiny green plants.

• Have leafy stalks and rhizoids.

o Rhizoids-Rhizoids- a root like structure that holds nonvascular plants in place and helps the plant get water and nutrients

Moss Life Cycle

• Turn to page 304- Figure 1

Liverworts and Hornworts• Small, nonvascular plants

• Live in damp places

• Both Liverworts and Hornworts have rhizoids

Importance of Nonvascular Plants

• Important role in the environment– First plants to live in a new environment,

such as newly exposed rock.

– When these nonvascular plants die, they form a thin layer of soil.

– New plants can now grow in this soil.

– More nonvascular plants may grow and hold the soil in place

reducing soil erosion

Other Importances• Some animals eat nonvascular plants.

• Other animals use these plants

for nesting material.

• Peat mosses are important

to humans. They grow in bogs and

other wet places. Used in potting soil.

Seedless Vascular Plants

• Typically, are these plants going to be smaller of larger than nonvascular plants?

• These plants include ferns, horsetails, and club mosses.

Ferns

• Grow anywhere from the cold Arctic to warm, humid tropical forests

• Most are small plants.

• Have a rhizome– Rhizome-Rhizome- an underground stem

from which new leaves and roots grow.

Fern Life Cycle

• Turn to page 306, Figure 3

Horsetails and Club Mosses

• HorsetailsHorsetails:– Can be tall but many are smaller

-Grow in wet, marshy places– Their stems are hollow and contain silica

-The silica gives horsetails a gritty texture which American pioneers utilized as pot and pan scrubbers

• Club Mosses:Club Mosses:– Not actually mosses– Grow in woodlands

– Have vascular tissue

Importance of Seedless Vascular Plants

• Roles in the Environment:– Ferns, horsetails, and club mosses

help form soil

– Help prevent soil erosion

– Ferns can play a role in the formation of communities in rocky areas

– Ferns add to soil depth, which allows other plants grow.

Importance of Seedless Vascular Plants

• Ferns and some club mosses are popular houseplants

• Fiddleheads of some ferns can be cooked

and eaten.

• Horsetails are used in some dietary supplements, shampoos, and skin-care

products.

Importance to Humans

• The remains of ancient ferns, horsetails, and club mosses formed coal.

• Coal is a fossil fuel that humans mine from the Earth’s crust.

• Humans rely on coal for energy.