#anthocerotophyta

It's my first time seeing one and I am delighted. ^_^

Anthocerotophyta: hornworts! Where to begin? They're closely related to mosses and liverworts, and like them have rhyzoids instead of roots, and have to absorb water from their surroundings directly rather than transporting it with xylem. They have alternation of generations, but unlike vascular plants the gametophyte generation, not the sporophyte generation, is dominant. They are found worldwide, but prefer damp environments, and there are somewhere between 100-300 known species. They are named for the horn-like shape of their sporophytes. The gametophyte generally forms a rosette or ribbon-like thallus, not leaves.

〈 Elaters in Anthocerotophyta, Microscopy (100x) 〉 // Manizales, Caldas » Colombia