Bryophyte is a traditional name used to refer to all embryophytes (land plants) that do not have true vascular tissue and are therefore called "non-vascular plants".
Some bryophytes do have specialized tissues for the transport of water; however, since these do not contain lignin, they are not considered to be true vascular tissue.
As of 2014, it is uncertain whether bryophytes are a natural or monophyletic group or a paraphyletic group, but the name is convenient and remains in use as a collective term for mosses, hornworts, and liverworts. Bryophytes produce enclosed reproductive structures (gametangia and sporangia), but they produce neither flowers nor seeds, reproducing via spores.