OK, I admit this would be a tough word to slip into everyday conversation. But a lovely word nonetheless.

Bryophyte
- A non-flowering plant including the mosses, liverworts and hornworts.

It stems from the Greek words brúon (=moss) and phutón (=plant), so fairly self-explanatory really.

I tell you what, though; I've listed hornwort for another blog at another time.

And if you really want to learn a thing or two about these ancient and verdant organisms, read Robin Wall Kimmerer's Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. It is a slight but mighty exposé of the mosses.