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tasmanian liverworts - lejeuneaceae
lejeunea 191115A
1. Lejeunea 191115A
This tiny Lejeunea was discovered growing in a population of Drepanolejeunea aucklandica. As the scale shows the branches are less than 0.5mm wide across opposing leaves.
Branching is regular with some secondary branching (pix 1).
Leaf lobules are unusual in being saccate, a feature usually
associated with the Lepidolaenacae family (pix 4 & 6). Lobule
teeth terminate in one (occasionally two) uniseriate cells tippd
with slime papillae (pix 6)
Leaves are orbicular with apex pointed and reflexed adaxially, less
than 0.4mm wide (pix 4).
There are 2-5 botryoidal oval oil bodies near leaf base but they
appear to get smaller, round and homogenous as they approach the distal
parts (pix 7). This may have been an optical illusion.
Some weeks later we discovered another small population of this liverwort, again growing over D. aucklandica on the same substrate - peeling teatree bark. This had maturing antheridia and we were able to observe free swimming spermatoid that emerged from a ruptured antheridium.
 2. branch |
 3. perianth |
 4. branch leaf |
 5. underleaf |
 6. lobule tooth |
 7. cells |
 8. androecium |
 9. antheridia |
Page URL: https://www.bluetier.org/Liverwort3/lejeunea-191115A.htm