Cells within the sporophyte undergo meiosis to give rise to the haploid spores. The spore develops into the gametophyte, which produces the gametes. The female gametophytes remain in the plant and are surrounded by protective tissues, eventually producing a seed . Bryophytes Bryophytes include the mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Although they resemble more complex land plants, they do not contain xylem or phloem.
Most species have rhizoids that attach the gametophytes to the soil and absorb water and minerals.
Mosses are the most common bryophytes. Eggs and sperm develop in the gametangia at the shoot tips of the familiar moss plants. After fertilization, the zygote develops into a mature sporophyte, which consists of a sporangium in which the spores develop. Most of the seedless vascular plants that flourished for about 60 million years are extinct. Although the sporophytes of seedless vascular plants can live on land, their gametophytes cannot because they lack vascular tissues and the male gametes must have water to reach the eggs.