Thallophyte

Thallophytes (Thallophyta or Thallobionta) are a polyphyletic group of non-mobile organisms traditionally described as 'thalloid plants', 'relatively simple plants' or 'lower plants'. They formed a now abandoned division of kingdom Plantae that included fungi, lichens and algae and occasionally bryophytes, bacteria and slime moulds. Thallophytes have a hidden reproductive system and hence they are also incorporated into the similarly abandoned Cryptogamae (together with ferns), as opposed to Phanerogamae. Thallophytes are defined by having undifferentiated bodies (thalli), as opposed to cormophytes (Cormophyta) with roots and stems. Various groups of thallophytes are major contributors to marine ecosystems. Thallophytes (Thallophyta or Thallobionta) are a polyphyletic group of non-mobile organisms traditionally described as 'thalloid plants', 'relatively simple plants' or 'lower plants'. They formed a now abandoned division of kingdom Plantae that included fungi, lichens and algae and occasionally bryophytes, bacteria and slime moulds. Thallophytes have a hidden reproductive system and hence they are also incorporated into the similarly abandoned Cryptogamae (together with ferns), as opposed to Phanerogamae. Thallophytes are defined by having undifferentiated bodies (thalli), as opposed to cormophytes (Cormophyta) with roots and stems. Various groups of thallophytes are major contributors to marine ecosystems.