What Are Bryophytes and What Does Bryology Study?

Updated

Bryophytes are non-vascular plants, and the group is conventionally divided into three lineages: mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. Bryology is the scientific study of these plants—their biology, ecology, diversity, and classification. The website bryology.org, run by the International Association of Bryologists (IAB), is a hub for that field: it publishes research and news, lists educational resources for learning about bryophytes, and features a daily image of a bryophyte species.

The three groups of bryophytes

Group What it refers to
Mosses One of the three bryophyte lineages
Liverworts One of the three bryophyte lineages
Hornworts One of the three bryophyte lineages

The IAB site treats all three as the subject matter of bryology, and its "Discover Bryophytes and Bryology" section links to separate presentations of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts.

What bryology covers

Bryology is the study of bryophytes as organisms—their biology and ecology—and the field extends into conservation, publication, and international collaboration. The IAB describes its mission as promoting international cooperation and communication among everyone interested in the biology of bryophytes, "whether amateur or professional." Its main activities include:

  • Meetings in various countries, held every two years
  • Publications: the peer-reviewed journal Bryophyte Diversity and Evolution and the newsletter The Bryological Times
  • Grants and prizes
  • Various projects linked to bryology

Where to start learning on the site

The "Discover Bryophytes and Bryology" section is the entry point for beginners. It links to resources of varying levels of detail, including:

  • A comprehensive presentation of bryophyte biology and ecology from the Australian National Herbarium and Australian Botanic Garden
  • "Learning about bryophytes" from the British Bryological Society (BBS)
  • Presentations of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts from the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network
  • A very comprehensive e-book covering all aspects of bryology and bryophytes by J. Glime

The site also notes that a page with links to bryological societies around the world will be available soon.

A quick way to see bryophytes

The homepage includes a "Bryophyte of the Day" feature with images by Des Callaghan—for example, Riccardia prehensilis (Hook. f. and Taylor). It is a low-effort way to see what the plants look like before diving into the longer educational resources.

If you want to go further

The IAB invites interested people to become members of its community, and its news section carries current items such as the 2027 IAB Congress in Bogotá, Colombia (26–30 July 2027, themed "High-Mountain Bryophytes"), a virtual meeting on 29 October 2026, and the June 2026 issue of The Bryological Times (Vol. 163). For anyone moving from "what are bryophytes?" to following the field, those pages show where the community's activity is concentrated.