What is the difference between vascular and non vascular in plants?

Vascular means there is tissue that provides conductive channels for a nonosmotic flow of sap- xylem and phloem. These tissues can be lignified for structural support.

Xylem?s structure is duel purpose but the xylem sap is a unidirectional flow driven by transpiration. The hardened cell wall supports the plants height and the dead cells, losing their end plates, open themselves into a continuous capillary tube for transport up to the leaves.

Xylem is made up of up to four different types of cells that are grown annually then follow a two-year life cycle.  They are the long water conducting tracheids in gymnosperm plants so there is a fairly uniform wood structure. In derived angiosperm there are vessel element cells as well as tracheids, plus xylem fiber cells and xylem parenchyma cells so the cell types are more specialized and the wood less uniform.

The phloem vesicles are the living transport tubes that move the product of photosynthesis and hormones as sap either up or down, by demand.
Phloem tissue is made up of phloem parenchyma cells (nonconducting, starch reservoir), sieve or enucleate sieve-tube cells (conducting) & their companion cells (regulate metabolic activities), Fiber cells (thicker cell walls for structural integrity)


Nonvascular plants move water by osmosis between cells only. With no way to conduct water & share water-soluble nutrients nonvascular plants rely on every part being in contact with a water source. While the outer cells absorb water inner cells must wait til water passively moves through cell walls by osmosis. That is, the environment controls the plant?s state of hydration, they cannot control it internally. This limits how many cells thick the plant can grow.

These nonvascular plants do not produce lignin so cannot become woody to support upright stems.

Dry land limits the spread of these plants since all parts must be constantly moist to actively grow or reproduce..  

Today nonvascular plants dominate in cold, wet climates so are common in the circumpolar tundra. They can grow in wetlands or along bodies of water.

Even the most terrestrially adapted nonvasular plant only have a 'midvein' line of xylem-like hydroid & phloem-like leptoid cells that facilitate internal osmosis in the phyllids. Basically phyllids are flanges along the stem that act as leaves but are restricted to being only one-cell thick to lack of vascularization. This still limits the plants to wet soils with at least seasonal moisture for them to grow and reproduce.

The main structural differences are vascular plants can reach several inches to several feet high and have conducting tissue that help pass resources such as water and nutrients through the plants. Non vascular plants are smaller, growing only 1 or 2 centimeters because they don't have vascular tissue.

Description for a vascular plant environment:Vascular plants can grow almost anywhere, as they have stems, leaves and roots to help with fertilization

Description for a non vascular plant environment: Non vascular plants need water for fertilization so they are usually found in damp, shady locations