Leiosporoceros

Leiosporoceros dussii is the only species in the hornwort genus Leiosporoceros. The species is placed in a separate family, order, and class for being "genetically and morphologically distinct from all other hornwort lineages." Cladistic analysis of genetic data supports a position at the very base of the hornwort clade. Physical characteristics that distinguish the group include unusually small spores that are monolete and unornamented. Additionally, there are unique strands of Nostoc (cyanobacteria) that grow inside the plant parallel with its direction of growth. Male plants have not yet been found.