EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Typically, the stature of these plants are short, lacking vascular tissues, true roots, leaves, seeds and flowers. Roots can here be compared to structures called rhizoids anchoring to the ground absorbing water and minerals.

Detailed explanation-2: -Characteristics of Nonvascular Plants Instead of roots, they have hair-like rhizoids to anchor them to the ground and to absorb water and minerals (see Figure below).

Detailed explanation-3: -Nonvascular plants lack differentiated tissues like vascular tissues, which separate them from vascular plants that have vascular tissues to transport nutrients and water. They also lack stems, roots, and leaves. But they have stem-like, root-like, and leaf-like structures that work just like stem, roots, and leaves.

Detailed explanation-4: -Rhizoids develop on the gametophytes of some land plants (liverworts, mosses, hornworts, lycophytes and monilophytes). Root hairs are found only on the roots of the sporophytes of vascular plants. The lycophytes and monilophytes develop both rhizoids on their gametophytes and root hairs on their sporophytes.

Detailed explanation-5: -A rhizoid (found in bryophytes or ferns) is basically just a filament that anchors the plant to the ground. A root, on the other hand contains vascular tissue, playing a key role in water and nutrient uptake. Q. Rhizoids have the same function as roots in flowering plants.