Non-Flowering Plants: Types and Characteristics

Non-Flowering Plants

• Ferns are green plants that grow in damp places and don't have flowers.
• Non-flowering plants have been around for millions of years and are some of the most ancient plants on Earth.

Types of Non-Flowering Plants

• Ferns, liverworts, mosses, hornworts, whisk ferns, club mosses, horsetails, conifers, cycads, and ginkgo are types of non-flowering plants.

Non-Flowering Plants from Spores

• Ferns grow from spores instead of seeds.
• Spores are tiny cells created by the plant, released into the air or water, and travel away from the original plant.
• Ferns, whisk ferns, mosses, liverworts, and hornworts grow in damp areas.
• Whisk ferns don't have real roots or leaves.
• There are over 12,000 different kinds of moss, which often covers the ground like a velvety rug in shady and moist areas.
• Club mosses have leaves shaped like needles and small leaves that make clusters in the shape of a cone, found mostly in tropical mountain areas.

Liverworts and Hornworts

• Liverworts and hornworts are spore-producing plants that grow on top of damp rocks and soil, and sometimes on tree trunks in damp areas.
• Hornworts are one of the oldest plants on Earth.

Horsetails

• Horsetails reproduce by spores and have no flowers, resembling a horse's tail.
• They are also called snake grass, horse pipes, or mare's tail.

Non-Flowering Plants from Seeds (Gymnosperms)

• Conifers, cycads, and ginkgo are gymnosperms, meaning 'naked seed', as their seeds aren't developed inside parts of flowers.
• Conifers have cones instead of flowers and needles instead of leaves, including pine, redwood, and hemlock trees.
• Cycads have very thick stems and large, divided leaves, and have been around over 200 million years.
• Gingko, also called the maidenhair tree, is a non-flowering plant that reproduces with seeds, with fossils of gingko leaves found to be over 270 million years old.

Learn about non-flowering plants, their ancient history, and different types including ferns, mosses, and conifers. Discover how they grow from spores, not seeds.