Mosses, Liverworts & Hornworts


Bryophyte is the collective name for the mosses, liverworts and hornworts. Bryophytes are spore-producing, rather than seed-producing, plants and they are all without flowers.

While there are marked differences between mosses, liverworts and hornworts, they are related closely enough to warrant a single term that includes all three. Bryophytes vary in size from plants only slightly over a millimetre tall to trailing species which grow to strands well over a metre long. Although they are often found in rainforests they can be found in a variety of habitats including arid and alpine areas. They occur most abundantly in relatively unpolluted areas. They can also be found growing on a variety of surfaces (or substrates) ranging from soil, rock, tree trunks, leaves, rotting wood, bones, to old discarded shoes or gloves. Bryophytes don’t have true roots. They have root-like anchoring structures called rhizoids but these do not actively extract minerals and water from the substrate.

You can read more about Bryophytes here: https://www.cpbr.gov.au/bryophyte/


Mosses, Liverworts & Hornworts

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Discussion

KimberiRP wrote:
29 Aug 2025
The location given above the main image is misleading. Zoom out on the Location Information map and you'll see it's on Sheep Station Creek, more than 12km west of Mount Clear.

Funaria hygrometrica
sangio7 wrote:
18 Aug 2025
R. campylothecium based on: https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/53e9cf6d-fe08-4ccb-954b-fa985b9c5ea8

Rosulabryum campylothecium
sangio7 wrote:
5 Aug 2025
Suggested ID based on https://www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk/learning/species-finder/bryum-capillare/ and https://www.nzflora.info/factsheet/Taxon/Rosulabryum-capillare.html

Rosulabryum sp.
sangio7 wrote:
1 Aug 2025
According to https://www.nzflora.info/factsheet/Taxon/Pseudocrossidium-crinitum.html, the long hairpoints at the leaf tips after which this species is named is a good ID feature.

Barbula crinita
sangio7 wrote:
31 Jul 2025
According to https://www.nzflora.info/factsheet/Taxon/Pseudocrossidium-crinitum.html, the long hairpoints at the leaf tips after which this species is named is a good ID feature.
Grimmia sp. also in the patch, possibly Grimmia laegivata

Barbula crinita
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