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Nonseed Producing Plants

Not all plants propagate by seeds. Plants like mushrooms, ferns and fern allies propagate by spores, or even by cell division. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some, like the one celled euglenoids, seem neither plant nor animal, though they have chlorophyll. Some non seeding plants are beneficial and some are so destructive that they've changed the course of human history.

Algae
- Kelp can form forests in the ocean.
  
  Algae have chlorophyll so can manufacture their own food. Some are one celled organisms and some are species of kelp that can be hundreds of feet long and form kelp forests in the oceans.
Fungi
- Most non flowering plants are fungi, though there are non flowering plants, like cycads, that still produce seeds. In most fungi the vegetative body is made of threads that mass to form mycelium. Mushrooms are the above ground bodies of underground mycelium. Fungi also produce spores, sometimes in very complex ways. Yeast is a fungi that makes dough rise by breaking down sugars and starches and producing alcohol. Mold fungi give blue cheese their flavor. However, mold caused the Irish potato famine of 1845-1846 by infecting potatoes. Mold almost destroyed the wine industry of France by attacking grape crops.
Bacteria
- Bacteria are microscopic. They reproduce by simply splitting in two, sometimes at prodigious rates. Most bacteria are harmless or even beneficial, but some can be deadly, like yersinia pestis, which caused the plague that wiped out much of Europe in the 14th century.
Lichens
- Lichens grow where other plants can't or won't. They're found on rocks, tree trunks, logs, sand and bare ground. They're slow growing, long lived plants that like cold climates. Lichens are composed of fungi and algae living in a symbiotic relationship. The fungi give the algae water and minerals and the algae manufacture carbohydrates for the fungi.
Embryophytes
- Most embryophytes don't produce seeds but produce spores which become embryos when fertilized. Mosses grow on soil, rocks or trees. Some are aquatic and live in bogs or even submerged in streams. They produce spores in capsules. Liverworts and hornwort are closely related to moss; the life cycles are very similar. They sometimes can be found on tree trunks or on rocks. Ferns also have a complex life cycle. They have large flat leaves and stalks and can grow quite large -- the leather fern can grow to 9 feet tall. Their spores are found on the undersides of the leaves in capsules called sporangia, which are further grouped into clusters called sori. Fern allies like horsetails and quillworts have small, scaly leaves.

Nature