True mosses (Phylum Bryophyta) are non-vascular plants that typically grow between 1-10 cm tall, usually growing densely together in carpet-like structures. Mosses are limited in their height due to the lack of vascular tissues, relying on capillary action for upright movement of water. Like liverworts and hornworts, true mosses attach to their substrate via rhizoids and live a gametophyte-dominated life cycle. Mosses (like liverworts, hornworts, and seedless vascular plants) reproduce via fertilized spores.

 

Moss life cycle. Illustration: LadyofHats 2005. Source: Wikimedia Commons.  

Moss life cycle. Illustration: LadyofHats 2005. Source: Wikimedia Commons.