A unique feature of hornwort is that the sporophytes, unlike that of mosses and liverworts, continue to grow from their bases for the remainder of the gametophyte's life, a characterstic known as indeterminate growth. Hornwort sporophytes are characterised by a basal (or intercalary) meristem that continuously develops new sporangial tissue (indeterminate growth). However, the sporangium does not grow indefinitely.