Nowhere near as sharp as it should have been, but this is the least blurry of the few macro photos I took of this Liverwort (non-vascular plant). Seen on 11 September 2013, with friends Sandy and Peter, at Johnston Canyon, Banff National Park, Alberta. I am guessing that this belongs to the Marchantia genus (Marchantiaceae family), and that the tiny, green cups are called Gemma or Gemmae?) Cups. Remind me of Bird's-nest Fungi : ) Hopefully, someone will correct me if I'm wrong, as I know nothing about Liverworts! Later: ID, thanks to Sandra Davis, is Marchantia polymorpha showing gemma cups holding gemmae.
"Gemmae are balls of cells which are genetically identical to the parent and contained in cup-like structures on the upper surface of the plant. These are dispersed when rain splashes the cups and develop into new plants." From Wikipedia.
"One reason liverworts are so curious is that in terms of the evolution of life on Earth, these plants are old. Liverworts are often referred to as "the simplest true plants." Instead of bearing regular roots, liverworts anchor themselves with rather primitive and simple, one-celled appendages known as rhizoids. Liverworts are called liverworts because long ago the people who named them felt that the curious arrangement of cells on the surface of some liverworts was similar to the cell arrangement in actual livers taken from animals." From backyardnature.net.
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