Hornwort

Hornwort
Temporal range: 90–0 Ma Upper Cretaceous (but see text) to present
Phaeoceros laevis (L.) Prosk.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Embryophytes
Division: Anthocerotophyta
Stotler & Stotl.-Crand., 1977[1]
Classes and orders
Leiosporocerotopsida
Anthocerotopsida

see Classification.

Synonyms

Anthocerotae

Hornworts are a group of non-vascular Embryophytes (land plants) constituting the division Anthocerotophyta (/ˌænθˌsɛrəˈtɒfətə, -təˈftə/). The common name refers to the elongated horn-like structure, which is the sporophyte. As in mosses and liverworts, hornworts have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information; the flattened, green plant body of a hornwort is the gametophyte stage of the plant.

Hornworts may be found worldwide, though they tend to grow only in places that are damp or humid. Some species grow in large numbers as tiny weeds in the soil of gardens and cultivated fields. Large tropical and sub-tropical species of Dendroceros may be found growing on the bark of trees.

The total number of species is still uncertain. While there are more than 300 published species names, the actual number could be as low as 100-150 species.[2]

  1. ^ Stotler, Raymond E.; Barbara J. Candall-Stotler (1977). "A checklist of the liverworts and hornworts of North America". The Bryologist. 80 (3). American Bryological and Lichenological Society: 405–428. doi:10.2307/3242017. JSTOR 3242017.
  2. ^ Lepp, Heino (12 September 2012). "What is a hornwort?". Australian Bryophytes. Australian National Botanic Gardens.