Q.In Bryophytes ..........

Bryophytes lack true vascular (conducting) tissue, so they are 'non-vascular', and they reproduce by inconspicuous spore-producing structures rather than seeds, so they are classified as 'cryptogams'.

The term 'Cryptogamae' literally means 'hidden reproductive organs' (from Greek: kryptos = hidden, gamos = marriage/reproduction), and is applied to plant groups (algae, bryophytes, pteridophytes) that reproduce by spores rather than by seeds, i.e., their reproductive structures are not as visible or elaborate as the flowers of seed plants.

Bryophytes specifically are called Non-Vascular Cryptogams for two combined reasons:

1. Non-vascular: Bryophytes do not possess specialised vascular tissues — xylem for water conduction and phloem for food conduction — that are found in higher (tracheophyte) plants. Instead, water and nutrients move through simple, unspecialised cells or by diffusion, which is why bryophytes are restricted to small size and damp/moist habitats (they are often called 'amphibians of the plant kingdom' for needing water for fertilisation as well).

2. Cryptogams: They reproduce via spores produced in a sporophyte (capsule), and they lack flowers and seeds; the male and female sex organs (antheridium and archegonium) are relatively small and not conspicuous like a flower.

Together, these two features give bryophytes their classification as Non-Vascular Cryptogams.