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natural history: liverworts
Random image of Blue Tier liverworts
According to the Checklist of Australian Liverworts and Hornworts Tasmania had 416 out of the 871 species recorded for the country at April 2006. We are not aware that anyone has made a study of how many of these grow on the Blue Tier so it will be an interesting exercise to start a record for liverworts.
The most familiar liverworts are the thallose forms of which Marchantia species would be typical. However the most common form to be found on the Blue Tier would be the leafy forms which, from a distance, closely resemble some mosses. Usually a hand lens is required to pick out the distinguishing features - the smaller species require closer examination under a dissecting microscope. If the stem has 2 rows of leaves on the surface and possibly another set on the underside, and the leaves lack a midvein, it is likely to be a leafy liverwort. However there are exceptions which make it difficult for a novice to identify the specimen with any certitude. This is nothing to be ashamed of since even taxonomists have been known (quite reasonably) to misidentify mosses for liverworts (Takakia lepidozioides).
Some of the leafy liverworts we have encountered are so tiny that we could not have set out to discover them deliberately - they have been found enmeshed with other more robust specimens we had examined. The scale provided on the images and inserts is believed to be reasonably accurate - e.g. we are confident that the Marsupidium setulosum, including the leaves on both sides is no more than a tad over 1 mm wide .
The presence or absence of a third set of leaves (underleaves), as well as their shape and arrangement along the stem, substrate and growth habit are essential for keying out the species. The inserts accompanying the main images provide details of these (underleaves carry the notation 'U'). Some of these inserts are less than stellar but provide what we consider the distinguishing features - we expect to replace them with clearer images in time to come.
While a mature Eucalyptus regnans is an awesome sight we suggest that the almost invisible macro-flora is no less a fascinating subject. We recommend Meagher & Fuhrer's book mentioned below for an introduction to mosses and liverworts, and suggest use of the University of Tasmania key linked below to acquire some familiarity with the subject.
On the left we have an image of a Chiloscyphus latifolius sporophyte - unlike the persistent moss sporophytes these have a short life span of a few hours within which to open and distribute the spores, as depicted on right [click on thumbnail for larger image]. The whitish thread-like structures are 'elaters' which may have a part in dispersal of spores.
In an ideal world every organism could be identified, or at least
be identifiable; in the inperfect world we inhabit some of the more
obscure forms do not easily fit into one category or another. The root
of the problem 'goes back a century or more when numerous species
were defined with great abandon, often based on limited examination of
specimens and with rather poor published descriptions'.
90709E listed below is one case
where despite our best attempts we have failed to discover where it
belongs, even to family level. It is possibly a Telaranea -
advice from an expert was to leave it as 'one of those with
unresolved taxonomy'.
We have started making some notes at the family level and hope to provide more in the coming months.
Liverwort thumbnails (135KB)
Thallose liverworts
- Hymenophytaceae
- Lunulariaceae
- Marchantiaceae
- Metzgeriaceae
- Pallaviciniaceae
- Treubiaceae
Leafy liverworts
- Acrobolbaceae
- Balantiopsidaceae
- Calypogeiaceae
- Cephaloziellaceae
- Geocalycaceae
- Jubulaceae
- Jungermanniaceae
- Lejeuneaceae
- Lepicoleaceae
- Lepidolaenaceae
- Lepidoziaceae
- Plagiochilaceae
- 90709E Telaranea sp. ?
['?' denotes some uncertainity in keying out specimens]
Literature:
- Meagher, D, & Fuhrer,
B., A
Field Guide to the Mosses and Allied Plants of Southern
Australia, (ISBN 0 642 56828 6), Flora of Australia
Supplementary Series, Number 20 - Australian Biological Resources
Study/The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, 2003
- Key
to Australasian Liverwort and Hornwort Genera (ISBN 0 642
56840 5) by Australian Biological Resources Study on CDRom is a
comprehensive interactive key to 181 genera of liverworts and
hornworts.
Web:
- University of Tasmania provides a key to Tasmanian liverworts
- Australian National Botanic Gardens maintains a section on bryophytes
- University of Auckland has an excellent section on liverworts with some detailed SEM images
- Another New Zealand website
Kaimai Bush provides a good collection of liverwort images with notes
- Discover Life has a huge collection of liverwort images, mainly of Frullania
Page URL: http://www.bluetier.org/nature/liverworts.htm