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. In the life cycle, gametangia in the gametophytes produce haploid gametes. When the plant is wet, the flagellated sperm swim to gametangia containing eggs, and fertilize the eggs to produce diploid zygotes. In the sporangia atop the sporophyte stalks, meiosis produces haploid spores, which are released, and soon germinate and begin to mitotically divide into gametophytes. Because bryophytes have flagellated sperm, they tend to inhabit moist environments that facilitate sperm movement.
Bryophytes also prefer living in shady places such as ravines and forest.
Bryophytes, especially mosses, inhabit almost all parts of the world, including tundra and desert habitats, as well as tropical forests. Diagram life cycle of moss. Classify to division.