bryophyte
nounUK /ˈbɹʌɪ̯.əˌfʌɪt/ · CA, US /ˈbɹaɪ̯.əˌfaɪt/
Etymology Borrowed from translingual Bryophyta, from Ancient Greek βρύον (brúon, “moss”) + φυτόν (phutón, “plant”) ( + -phyte).
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Biology, Botany, Natural sciences Any plant of the division Bryophyta, defined sensu lato to comprise the mosses, liverworts and hornworts and corresponding to all embryophytes that are not vascular plants.
- Without going into their reasons, Bold, Alexopoulos, & DelBevoryas (1980) and Crandall-Stotler (1980) believe that there are at least three independent lines of bryophytes and that this is best reflected by establishing three divisions - the Bryophyta (mosses), Hepatophyta (liverworts), and Anthocerotophyta (hornworts).1993, Wilson Nichols Stewart, Paleobotany and the Evolution of Plants, page 77:
- 2002, William R. Buck, Bryophytes, entry in Niles Eldredge (editor), Life on Earth, page 202, Because of their small size and often delicate structure, bryophytes have a poor fossil record, dating back only about 290 million years.
1 more example
- And so it was that I was introduced to Len Ellis and the quiet world of bryophytes – mosses to the rest of us.2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, published 2003, page 312:
- Derived terms
- bryophytic
- Related terms
- Anthocerotophyta, cryptogam, embryophyte, Marchantiophyta, pteridophyte, spermatophyte