Difference between Vascular and Non-vascular plants – Vascular vs Non-vascular plants

Vascular plants, often referred to as tracheophytes, are the plants on the land with cells that are lignified to conduct minerals and...

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This article writter by MN Editors on December 26, 2021


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Difference between Vascular and Non-vascular plants - Vascular vs Non-vascular plants

What are Vascular Plants?

  • Vascular plants, often referred to as tracheophytes, are the plants on the land with cells that are lignified to conduct minerals and water all over the body.
  • The lignified tissues can also be known as vascular tissues and are composed of xylem tissue that conducts water as well as food-conducting phloem tissue.
  • Vascular tissue is a central column, sometimes known as stele, along the plant axis to facilitate the movement of various substances.
  • Vascular plants are believed to have a stem, leaves and roots because of the presence of vessels.
  • It is the genuine root, which allows the plant to firmly encase the soil and absorb the nutrients it needs from.
  • The leaves are wide and feature stomata which work to facilitate gas exchange and transpiration.
  • The stem of the vascular plant is multilayered with vascular tissue that aids with protection as well as transfer of water and food.
  • The way these issues are arranged could be different in different groups of plants, based on the division pattern of cells.
  • The xylem is made up by non-living substances, such as tracheids and vesicles that are which are lignin-based, providing rigidity that gives the tissue a stiff structure. The phloem, however, on the other hand, is made up of living sieve components that aren’t made lignified.
  • Vascular plants can being able to survive on land due their capacity to carry water, food and minerals to various areas of the plant by making pressure in the tissues.
  • In addition, they have numerous modifications that aid in their life on the land.
  • A further aspect of vessels is that the main stage of their development is the sporophytic stage where they create diploid spores.
  • Vascular plants are large and tall in size when compared to non-vascular plants due to their capacity to carry essential substances to all areas of the body through the vascular tissue.
  • There is a belief that vascular plants were more advanced version of non-vascular plants , and therefore were later in evolution history.
  • Vascular plants can be classified into two categories: plants that do not seed which are lower plants, or seeds and cryptograms, as well as higher vascular plants also known as Phanerogams.
  • Lower vascular plant species comprise the ferns and plants that, although they can be adapted to live on the land, still exhibit characteristics that are reminiscent of their aquatic ancestral lineage. They belong to the group Pteridophyta.
  • The higher vessels are diverse and extremely diverse. They are further subdivided into various subgroups.
  • Vascular plants are mustard, maize rose, cycad, rose clubmosses, ferns grasses, and so on.

Examples of vascular plants


Ferns are an example that belongs to the lower class of vascular plants with specific conducting tissues like Phloem and xylem, which are required to transport minerals, water, and food particles. They are vascular plants that do not flower with real stems, roots, as well as leaves that reproduce through spores. The variety of ferns that are known to date is between 10,000 and 11,000 but certain estimates suggest that over 15,000 species may exist, including those found located in tropical forests.

They vary in terms of habitat, forms and methods of reproduction. They also vary in size from tiny and fragile to trees that reach 25 meters high. Ferns tend to be found in damp or warm zones and their numbers go in a downward direction with the increase of altitude and decreasing humidity.

Ferns are essential in ecological succession, where they flourish in the crevices and crevices in bare stones and in marsh areas prior to the development in woody plants. Their ability to disperse spores and their capacity to produce self-fertilize and gametes allows for long-distance dispersal for these plants.


Cycads are gymnosperms and non-flowering vascular plants that have developed stems, roots leaves, and the vascular system. They are massive trees that can reach about three or five feet tall with wooden stems. Around 15 species of cycads are well-known, which are found throughout the western and the eastern hemisphere.

They can be often found in the forests, but are often planted by farmers to provide fodders and woods for livestock. Their appearance is comprised of an unidirectional, stout circular, woody trunk, and the crown is made up of huge, evergreen, hard, stiff compound leaves that form an rosette. These plants are deciduous , and the only gymnosperms that can form seeds cones on female plants rather than an entire leaf-life structures (megasporophyll) which has seed in males.

Certain species of cycads like C. Cirinalis, C. bedomei are planted to be ornamental in the gardens. Cycads can also be described as sago palms because they grow from the stems of a few species, a type of starch, commonly known as’sago which is derived. C. revolute’s leaves C. revolute serve to make baskets, hats, and friends. The leaves can also used to create floral decorations as well as other ornamental purposes.

What are Non-vascular Plants?

  • Non-vascular plants, also referred to as bryophytes, or lower plants are found in moist and damp regions, and are devoid of special vessels.
  • Phloem and both xylems are not present in these plants, which means they are plants that have basic parts.
  • Non-vascular plants are composed of more structurally advanced varieties of mosses, algae, liverwortsand hornworts.
  • They are found in the lakes and swampy bogs, or in shady areas. They are also smaller and less complicated because they are confined because of the absence of blood vessels.
  • Non-vascular plants don’t have real roots, stems or leaves. The tissues they have are not the most specialized types of tissue.
  • Instead of roots that are real they are rhizoids which are hair-like structures which help support the plant’s roots firmly to ground. The absorption of minerals and water in the rhizoids happens through diffusion and Osmosis.
  • True leaves are not present without specialized tissue to aid in the protection against transpiration or loss of water. of transpiration.
  • The stem is comprised of less complex tissue, and is weak , unable to hold the plant in the same way as the case of vascular plants.
  • For non-vascular species, gametophyte production is more predominant with haploid gametophytes. The sporophytes of these species originate from the gametophytes, and depend on gametophytes to get water and minerals.
  • Non-vascular plants are primitive plants that first appear during the evolution process.
  • The plants are divided into two main groups of plants that are bryophytes and algae.
  • Algae are colored green lower plants capable of photosynthesis, but do not have real structures.
  • Bryophytes include plants such as the majority of mosses and liverworts that can be found in shady places and consume decaying dead matter.
  • Non-vascular plants are often considered the pioneer species since they don’t require any nutrients or water for existence and are able to thrive in barren areas.
  • With the help of several advanced methods Non-vascular plants are capable of growing in areas that are inhabited by vascular plants.
  • A few examples of non-vascular plants are liverwort, algae, moss and the hornwort.

Examples of non-vascular plants


It is an unvascular species that is found in all kinds of environments but is mostly found in areas of swampy and dark. Moss is among the rare living beings, often referred to as pioneer species, which are some of the very first species that have colonized areas that are barren and without soil. They are typically found in the carpet woodlands and on forest floors.

There are about 12000 species of mosses throughout the world that inhabit habitats from the cold arctic to desert land. They are also quite diverse in size with some being microscopic, while others can be over one foot tall. They can’t grow as tall in height due to absence of vascular tissue as a result, they can’t transport minerals and water up to the top in the plants.

In place the roots would be, they possess rhizoids which are not efficient in the absorption of minerals and water in the soil. The gametophytic phase is dominant because the stem or leaf-like structures form a component of the gametophyte. The gametophyte evolves into the sporophytic stage that produces spores , which aid in reproduction.


Liverworts are non-vascular plants that develop as tiny leaf-like structures. They are typically found near the soil in areas that are moist or shady. They can also be found in swampy areas. While they can be found everywhere they are found mostly in tropical regions. The thallus is the gametophytic component of the plant which creates specific organs that contain the sporophytic phase.

Liverworts have a similarity to hornworts, and are distinguished from hornworts by the distinct structure of the thallus and sporophyte. They are plants that have an incredibly primitive structure, similar to Rhizooids that are used in place of roots to aid in the connection and absorption and retention of water as well as minerals in the soil. They aren’t particularly significant for humans, but they do provide sources of food for animals, assist in the decomposition of logs and assist to integrate rocks in ecological succession. Liverworts are a early species and are the first living creatures to be discovered during the primary succession.

Differences between Vascular and Non-vascular plants (Vascular plants vs Non-vascular plants)

Basis for ComparisonVascular plantsPlants that are not vascular
DefinitionVascular plants are the plants that are found on land that contain tissues that are lignified to conduct minerals and water all over the plant’s body.Non-vascular plants are located in moist and humid regions and do not have specific vessels.
Also referred to asVascular plants can also be referred to as tracheophytes.Plants that are not vascular can also be referred to as bryophytes, or lower plants.
DiversityVascular plants are abundant and are more varied than non-vascular plants.Non-vascular plants are less in number, and they are also less diverse than the vascular plants.
HabitatVascular plants are plants that grow on land that are able to thrive in a variety of environments.Non-vascular plants tend to be found in shady, damp, or swampy areas.
Vascular SystemVascular plants are distinguished with the presence of a system that has lignified xylem tissue and phloem tissue that has been sieved.The absence of an vascular tissue system defines non-vascular plants.
cell arrangementThe division of labor is an important characteristic of vascular plants. their arrangement of cells are more intricate and is mostly a characteristic of particular families.Cells in plants that are not vascularized have a more straightforward than in vascular plants.
StrengthThe tissues that are lignified are strong and rigid, which gives support and strength to the plant.Non-vascular plants are more tender and smaller than vascular plants due the lack of water-conducting tissues.
LifecycleThe most prominent life cycle of the vascular plants is called the sporophyte. In this stage, they produce the spores, which are diploid.The main or dominant lifecycle for non-vascular plants is the gametophyte phase, in which they create gametes which are haploid.
RootThe root of plants that are vascular is present in the branches which support, and stick to the plant’s soil in order to get the nutrients it needs. The roots absorb mineral and water required by plants from soil.Non-vascular plants have rhizoids that have hair-like structures that look like fine hairs instead of the real root. They draw their water, nutrients and minerals from soil through diffusion or the process of osmosis.
StemThe stem of the vascular plant is multilayered, comprising Phloem and xylem, which create an interconnected pathway running along the main axis.There is no true stem within non-vascular plant species.
LeavesTrue leaves are found that are defined in shape and play a significant role in photosynthesis. Stomata can be found on leaves, which are essential to gas exchange.True leaves are missing. The leaves lack specific tissue to facilitate transpiration or gas exchange.
CuticlesLeaves, as well as other parts of the plant, have cuticles that guard the plant from desiccation.The plants don’t have cuticles.
EvolutionVascular plants are the more advanced varieties of non-vascular plants which came into existence earlier than non-vascular plants on the planet.Plants that were non-vascular are among the earliest species to appear on the planet.
Pioneer speciesVascular plants are found later in ecological succession , and therefore do not form part of the pioneer species.Non-vascular plants can be seen as pioneer species in a variety of ecological successions.
ExamplesVascular plants include mustard, maize and roses, cycads clubmosses, ferns, grasses, and so on.A few examples of non-vascular plants are algae, moss, the hornwort and liverwort.
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