Bryology (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, a moss, a liverwort) is the branch of

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

concerned with the scientific study of

bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in ...

s (

moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

es, liverworts, and

hornwort Hornworts are a group of non-vascular Embryophytes (land plants) constituting the division Anthocerotophyta (). The common name refers to the elongated horn-like structure, which is the sporophyte. As in mosses and liverworts, hornworts have a ...

s). Bryologists are people who have an active interest in observing, recording, classifying or researching bryophytes. The field is often studied along with

lichenology Lichenology is the branch of mycology that studies the lichens, symbiotic organisms made up of an intimate symbiotic association of a microscopic alga (or a cyanobacterium) with a filamentous fungus. Study of lichens draws knowledge from several ...

due to the similar appearance and

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

niche of the two organisms, even though bryophytes and lichens are not classified in the same

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

History

Bryophytes were first studied in detail in the 18th century. The German botanist

Johann Jacob Dillenius Johann Jacob Dillen Dillenius (1684 – 2 April 1747) was a German botanist. He is known for his ''Hortus Elthamensis'' ("Eltham Garden") on the rare plants around Eltham, London, and for his ''Historia muscorum'' ("History of Mosses"), a natur ...

(1687–1747) was a professor at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and in 1717 produced the work "Reproduction of the

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes except t ...

s and mosses." The beginning of bryology really belongs to the work of

Johannes Hedwig Johann Hedwig (8 December 1730 – 18 February 1799), also styled as Johannes Hedwig, was a German botanist notable for his studies of mosses. He is sometimes called the "father of bryology". He is known for his particular observations of sexual r ...

, who clarified the reproductive system of mosses (1792, ''Fundamentum historiae naturalist muscorum'') and arranged a

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

Research

Areas of research include bryophyte

, bryophytes as

bioindicator A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other sma ...

DNA sequencing DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...

, and the interdependency of bryophytes and other plant and animal species. Among other things, scientists have discovered parasitic bryophytes such as ''

Cryptothallus ''Cryptothallus'' is a previously recognized genus of liverworts in the family Aneuraceae. The plants are small, and are white to pale green as a result of lacking chlorophyll. This feature led to the creation of a separate genus. The morphology ...

'' and potentially carnivorous liverworts such as '' Colura zoophaga'' and ''

Pleurozia ''Pleurozia'' is the only genus of liverworts in the family Pleuroziaceae, which is now classified in its own order Pleuroziales, but was previously included in a broader circumscription of the Jungermanniales. The genus includes twelve species ...

''. Centers of research in bryology include the

University of Bonn The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine U ...

in Germany, the University of Helsinki in Finland and the

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

Journal

The Bryologist ''The Bryologist'' is a peer reviewed scientific journal specializing in bryology. It is published quarterly by the American Bryological and Lichenological Society (ABLS). It began as a department of '' The Fern Bulletin'' devoted to the study o ...

'' a scientific journal began publication in 1898, and includes articles on all aspects of the biology of mosses, hornworts, liverworts and lichens and also book reviews. It is published by ''The American Bryological and Lichenological Society''.

Notable bryologists

Miles Joseph Berkeley Miles Joseph Berkeley (1 April 1803 – 30 July 1889) was an English cryptogamist and clergyman, and one of the founders of the science of plant pathology. Life Berkeley was born at Biggin Hall, Benefield, Northamptonshire, and educated at R ...

(1803–1889) *

Elizabeth Gertrude Britton Elizabeth Gertrude Britton (née Knight) (January 9, 1858 – February 25, 1934) was an American botanist, bryologist, and educator. She and her husband, Nathaniel Lord Britton played a significant role in the fundraising and creation of the New ...

(1858–1934) *

Margaret Sibella Brown Margaret Sibella Brown (March 2, 1866November 16, 1961) was a Canadian bryologist specializing in mosses and liverworts native to Nova Scotia. Although lacking formal scientific training, she has been recognized for her contributions to bryolo ...

(1866–1961) *

Agnes Fry Agnes Fry (25 March 1869 - 15 August 1958) was a British bryologist, astronomer, botanical illustrator, writer and poet, who donated Failand House's Estate to the National Trust. Family Fry was born on 25 March 1869, in Highgate. Her fat ...

(1869 - 1957/8) *

Heinrich Christian Funck Heinrich Christian Funck (22 November 1771 – 14 April 1839) was a German pharmacist and bryologist born in Wunsiedel, Bavaria. He was a co-founder of the Regensburg Botanical Society. He received early training at a pharmacy in Regensburg, subs ...

(1771–1839) *

Robert Kaye Greville Dr. Robert Kaye Greville FRSE FLS LLD (13 December 1794 – 4 June 1866) was an England, English mycologist, bryology, bryologist, and botanist. He was an accomplished artist and illustrator of natural history. In addition to art and scien ...

(1794–1866) *

Wilhelm Theodor Gümbel Wilhelm Theodor Gümbel (19 May 1812, in Dannenfels – 10 February 1858, in Landau in der Pfalz) was a German bryologist. He was an older brother of geologist Karl Wilhelm von Gümbel. He studied at the universities of Würzburg and Munich, and ...

(1812–1858) * Inez M. Haring (1875–1968) *

Hiroshi Inoue Hiroshi Inoue or Inoue Hiroshi may refer to: * Hiroshi Inoue (entomologist) (1917–2008), Japanese lepidopterist * Hiroshi Inoue (bryologist) was a Japanese botanist specializing in bryology.Kathleen King (1893–1978) * Mary S. Taylor (born 1885) *

Frances Elizabeth Tripp Frances Elizabeth Tripp (1 August 1832 – 26 December 1890) was a British bryologist, botanical illustrator, philanthropist and writer. She is best known for her two volume work ''British Mosses, their homes, aspects, structures and uses' ...

(1832-1890) *

Carl Friedrich Warnstorf Carl Friedrich Warnstorf (2 December 1837 in Sommerfeld – 28 February 1921 in Berlin-Friedenau) was a German educator and bryologist specializing in Sphagnum studies. He received his education at the teaching seminar in Neuzelle (1855-18 ...

(1837–1921)

References

Literature

* Meylania, ''Zeitschrift für Bryologie und Lichenologie'' * Limprichtia, ''Zeitschrift der Bryologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutschlands''

External links

*
Bryologie at the University of Bonn
*
International Association of BryologistsAmerican Bryological and Lichenological SocietyBritish Bryological Society
Branches of botany * {{botany-stub