Pteridophytes were the first plants to develop true vascular tissue (xylem and phloem), allowing them to grow taller and transport water efficiently.
In bryophytes like Riccia, the capsule is the sporophyte that produces spores. It remains embedded in the gametophyte.
Bryophytes have a waxy cuticle that reduces water loss, though it's not as effective as in higher plants due to absence of stomata.
In bryophytes, the gametophyte (moss plant) is dominant and independent, while the sporophyte depends on it for nutrition.
Bryophytes need water for fertilization as their sperms are motile. This characteristic links them to aquatic plants while they live on land.
Plants are autotrophic and perform photosynthesis. Heterotrophic nutrition is characteristic of animals and fungi, not plants.