Download Field Log: Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts

Field Log: Mosses,
Liverworts, and Hornworts
Introduction
Plants need water and other nutrients to survive.
Most plants have special parts that move water and
nutrients through their bodies. Mosses, liverworts,
and hornworts are three types of plants that do not
have special parts for carrying water and nutrients.
They survive without these parts by being small.
Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts grow best in moist
environments like damp forests and swamps.
The information below is from a scientist’s field log.
The scientist studied samples of mosses, liverworts,
and hornworts. She studied these plants in a humid
forest that receives a lot of rain. The scientist
recorded the plants’ characteristics in the field log.
She also recorded the place where she found each
type of plant within the forest.
Plants such as
mosses (right),
liverworts (top), and
hornworts all survive
by staying small
compared to other
plants.
Type of Plant: Mosses
Description: The mosses look like fuzzy green patches. One patch
is made up of lots of small plants growing close together. The leafy
parts on each moss plant are arranged in a circle.
Place Found: The mosses are growing in a shady area on a rotten
tree log.
Type of Plant: Liverworts
Description: The liverworts are low to the ground. Each liverwort
plant is only about eight centimeters tall. The leafy parts are dark
green and are about as wide as a pencil. They are shaped like
ribbons and are covered with tiny bumps.
Place Found: The liverworts are growing on a rock near a stream.
Type of Plant: Hornworts
Description: The hornworts are small, flat plants. The leafy parts
are green and ridged along the edges. They are oddly shaped and
look like small pieces of lettuce leaves. Horn-like parts are growing
out of them.
Place Found: The hornworts are growing in wet soil at the base of
a tree.
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