Explain why non-vascular plants like mosses are short and must live near water.?

Answer 1

Since they are non-vascular they don't have things like pholem and xylem (the stem and other things that transport nutrients around the plants) and they also don't contain deep roots.

Because of this they can't store nutrients all to well, and they can't tap into the underground water. In order to survive, they live in moist environments where there is enought water for the whole plant to get water (thus being able to create their own nutrients).

Answer 2

There are a couple of reasons why nonvascular plants must be short:
a. Vascular tissue is rigid and helps support taller plants. No vascular tissue translates to "short".
b. Vascular tissue transports food and water throughout a larger plant. Nonvascular plants must pass these materials from cell to cell by diffusion. This is too slow to work for a big plant, so nonvascular plants must be small.

Nonvascular plants must live in shady, moist places, but not necessarily near bodies of water -- just shady and on the moist side. Their leafy parts are rather thin and lose water easily. They don't have true roots to reach into the earth to absorb water from deeper underground. They need a fairly constant source of water.

Answer 3

Non-vascular speaks to this question.