Name derivation:
Greek Bryo meaning to be full of , to swell, sprout up, burst forth; phyto meaning plant.
Morphology:
The young protonema of mosses (haploid gametophytic branched trichomes) look very much like the branched brichomes of green algae with multiple discoid chloroplasts per cell. Older moss protonema, to which the younger ones are attached, tend to be brown.
Similar Forms:
Habitat:
Mainly damp terrestrial soil, some such as Fontinalis are common in freshwater streams. Spores are occasionally encountered in lake plankton samples.