BRyOphiTEs

Overview

Bryophytes, plant organisms that do not produce flowers, seeds, or fruits, were the first photosynthesizing plants to conquer dry land, around 500-600 million years ago.

They prefer constantly humid environments, but they can also be found in very different habitats, including arid ones: a demonstration that these latter habitats are not poor in water, but rather in nutrients!

We generally know bryophytes as mosses, but alongside the latter, there are other plants known as liverworts; both groups, in turn, include various species and subspecies (in Italy: about 280 species of liverworts and about 850 species of mosses).

Some characteristic species of the project habitats include Ceratodon purpureus, a species particularly resistant to desiccation, Leucobryum glaucum, known for its cushion-like shape, Polytrichum piliferum, whose leaves resemble hair, and Racomitrium canescens, with its silvery sheen.

Gallery

LIFE18 NAT/IT/000803

The Drylands project is funded by the LIFE Programme of the European Union

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Partners

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