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Bryophytes

What are bryophytes?

Bryophytes are simple, green, land plants. Unlike higher plants such as ferns and flowers, they lack specialised woody water-conducting vessels. Their relatively delicate, nonvascular structure limits the size to which they can grow.

  • Bryophytes growing on a fallen tree
    Habitats

    Discover the diverse environments favoured by bryophytes.

  • Zygodon trichomitrius leaf cells
    Bryophyte research

    Find out about the bryophyte-related research being conducted by Botany Department staff, which focuses on the exploration, description and monitoring of bryophyte flora in the tropics.

  • Herbarium sheet with numerous specimens of the moss Splachnum
    Bryophte collections

    Learn more about the collections housed in one of the world’s largest bryophyte herbaria. They incorporate over 900,000 specimens from around the globe, including more than 32,000 type specimens.

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