Classification

The term Bryophyta is a Greek term first introduced by Braun (1864). While coining the term, he included algae, fungi, lichens and mosses in this group. Presently, Bryophytes are grouped into three separate phyla: Marchantiophyta Stotler & Crand.- Stotl., Bryophyta Shimp. and Anthocerotophyta Rothm. ex Stotler & Crand.- Stotl.

Pteridophytes(vascular cryptogams) are primitive vascular plants that do not produce flowers or seeds and reproduce via spores. They are an important component of ground vegetation of forests as well as epiphytic vegetation

Lichens are complex and stable symbiotic associations between a fungus (the mycobiont) and one or more photosynthetic partners (the photobiont), which may be a green microalga, a cyanobacterium, or both. The interacting partners form an integrated body called the lichen thallus, in which the fungal partner provides the structural framework and a suitable environment for the photosynthetic partner, while the photobiont contributes organic compounds produced through photosynthesis.