Mosses

Liverworts

Polytrichum commune (2 to 40 cm) - Dark green deep tufts in wet heathland, bogs, moorland and near woodland streams. Capsules are present in the summer - four sided, yellowish and hairy. Male plants have a pink tinged rosette of leaves at their tips. Common and widespread. Image taken at Nomansland, New Forest, Hampshire .

Polytrichum piliferum (up to 6 cm) -  Forms greyish-green patches due to the silvery hair tips to the leaves. Male plants have a red rosette structure whilst females have slightly inclined capsules on red stalks. Found on moors and heaths. Common and widespread on well drained acidic or neutral soils. Image taken at Nomansland, New Forest, Hampshire .

Conocephalum conicum (up to 20 cm long) -  Forms flat lush green carpets. Contain a hexagonal structure on the branches - each hexagon contains a pore. Male structures are found in purplish lumps at the tip of the branches. Fruit capsules are not common - found beneath the cone on thin stalks. Found on damp shaded rocks near ditches, streams, on walls and mountain ledges. Common and widespread. Image taken at Nomansland, New Forest, Hampshire .

Posses stems and leaves but unlike ferns and the flowering plants, have no roots. Instead they possess rhizoids, modified stems forming root-like structures. The leaves are either in spirals or in two flat rows. Spores are produced in capsules that either eject them forcibly (e.g. sphagnum), released through four slits (e.g. Andraea spp), or via an opening as the the lid falls off (e.g. majority of mosses). The spores then develop into new plants (not prothalli as with ferns).  Each plant contains both male and female structures. Male cells travel through the surface water film to the female structure via sensing a released chemical. Once fertilised, the female receptacle develops a capsule that generates more spores.

Posses stems and leaves but unlike ferns and the flowering plants, have no roots. Instead they possess rhizoids, modified stems forming root-like structures. Liverworts are either flat-lobed structures or possess small leaves in groups of three. Life cycle is similar to mosses with obvious male and female structures. The capsules break into four flaps to release the ripened spores.