All pictures below courtesy Ralph. The bryophytes are thought to have been the first true plants, evolving from charophytes almost 500 million years ago. The bryophytes exhibit several hallmarks of plants that are key adaptations to living on land, including a waxy cuticle to protect the leaves, stomata to allow gaseous exchange, and gametangia that protect developing embryos.
All bryophytes can absorb water through the entire body surface.
This lack of vascular tissue equates to a lack of internal support, which is supplied to other plants by the rigid cell walls in vascular tissue. Unlike other plants, bryophytes do not have true organs, such as leaves, stems, or roots. In place of roots, most bryophytes have thin, hairy tubes called rhizoids that provide anchorage and nutrient uptake from the soil. The bryophyte life cycle is unique in having a dominant gametophyte generation. The actual green plant in mosses and worts is the gametophyte plant, while the sporophyte consists of simply an enclosed sporangium, typically atop a stalk.