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The spores are dispersed through a catapult-like system, flinging the spores out briefly at up to 10m/s. This is caused by the gradual build up of a high negative pressure (200-300 atmospheres) within annulus cells from water loss. [1] As these cells lose water, they shrink, and are designed to inwardly bend on the outer face of the annulus.
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Most bryophytes, such as these mosses, produce stalked sporophytes from which their spores are released. The non-vascular land plants, namely the mosses (Bryophyta), hornworts (Anthocerotophyta), and liverworts (Marchantiophyta), are relatively small plants, often confined to environments that are humid or at least seasonally moist.
A diaspore of seed plus elaiosome is a common adaptation to seed dispersal by ants (myrmecochory). This is most notable in Australian and South African sclerophyll plant communities. [ 1 ] Typically, ants carry the diaspore to their nest, where they may eat the elaiosome and discard the seed, and the seed may subsequently germinate .
Mechanisms of dispersal are less known in these genera. In both genera, the sporangiophore, guided by light, elongates until the sporangium is brought into contact with a solid surface. In Pilobolus , contact with the surface causes a rupture at the columella, which releases the sporangium, which adheres to the new surface.
In leptosporangiate ferns, the fern catapults its spores 1-2 cm so they can be picked up by a second dispersal vector, often the wind. [4]Autochory is the dispersal of diaspores, which are dispersal units consisting of seeds or spores, using only the energy provided by the diaspore or the parent plant. [5]
Once spore dispersal completes, the seta is the only evidence left of the sporophyte as the capsules disperse. [5] Sporophyte maturation in Dicranoloma billardierei takes approximately twenty months. [5] Compared to other species such as Dicranoloma menziesii, Dicranoloma billardierei produces relatively small abundance of sporophyte colonies. [5]
Buxbaumia viridis, also known as the green shield-moss, is a rare bryophyte found sporadically throughout the northern hemisphere. [1] [2] The gametophyte of this moss is not macroscopically visible; the large, distinct sporophyte of B. viridis is the only identifying structure of this moss. [3]