1. A small, non-vascular plant that includes mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, typically found in moist environments and lacking true roots and vascular tissue.
Usage: biology term; often used in plural form

Examples

• Mosses are the most common type of bryophyte found in forests.
• Bryophytes play an important role in soil formation and water retention.
• Unlike ferns, bryophytes do not have true roots or vascular tissue.
• The forest floor was covered with a thick carpet of bryophytes.
• Bryophytes are among the earliest land plants to have evolved.
• Many bryophytes require moisture to reproduce successfully.