The cells in vascular and nonvascular plants are both able to get water, but nonvascular plants have different methods than vascular plants. How do these differences affect the height of the plants? In three to five sentences, explain this and be sure to describe how each type of plant gets water to its cells

1 answer

The main difference between vascular and nonvascular plants lies in their ability to transport water throughout their cells. Vascular plants, which have specialized tissues called xylem and phloem, are capable of conducting water and nutrients from the roots to other parts of the plant, allowing them to grow taller. Nonvascular plants, on the other hand, lack these specialized tissues and therefore rely on other methods to obtain water. Nonvascular plants obtain water through direct absorption from surrounding environments, typically living in moist habitats, and this limits their ability to grow to great heights. In summary, the presence or absence of specialized transport tissues directly affects the height of plants by determining their ability to efficiently distribute water and nutrients throughout their structures.