Yesterday afternoon, 20 August 2013, I went for a botany walk in South Glenmore Park with a couple of friends. Part of the walk was down by the edge of the Glenmore Reservoir, on the dried mud from the Flood of the Century in June. Sandy discovered this quite attractive, tiny Liverwort (non-vascular plant), called Riccia cavernosa. This species is listed as an S1, which means that it is known from five or fewer occurrences or especially vulnerable to extirpation because of other factor(s). Nicely found, Sandy! Nearby, there were a couple of pink ones. This is a supermacro photo of a very small specimen that was maybe half to three-quarters of an inch across, (Sandy has a Licence to collect).
"In ancient times, it was believed that liverworts cured diseases of the liver, hence the name. In Old English, the word liverwort literally means liver plant. This probably stemmed from the superficial appearance of some thalloid liverworts (which resemble a liver in outline), and led to the common name of the group as hepatics, from the Latin word hēpaticus for "belonging to the liver". An unrelated flowering plant, Hepatica, is sometimes also referred to as liverwort because it was once also used in treating diseases of the liver. This archaic relationship of plant form to function was based in the "Doctrine of Signatures".
The greatest impact of Liverworts is through the reduction of erosion along streambanks, their collection and retention of water in tropical forests, and the formation of soil crusts in deserts and polar regions. However, a few species are used by humans directly. A few species, such as Riccia fluitans, are aquatic thallose liverworts sold for use in aquariums. Their thin, slender branches float on the water's surface and provide habitat for both small invertebrates and the fish that feed on them." From Wikipedia.
www.bbsfieldguide.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/liverworts/Riccia_cavernosa.pdf
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marchantiophyta
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Tags: Riccia cavernosa Liverwort, S1 macro close-up #GreatNature
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On 20 August 2013, I went for a botany walk in South Glenmore Park with a couple of friends. Part of the walk was down by the edge of the Glenmore Reservoir, on the dried mud from the Alberta Flood of the Century in June. Sandy discovered this quite attractive, tiny Liverwort (non-vascular plant), called Riccia cavernosa. This species is listed as an S1, which means that it is known from five or fewer occurrences or especially vulnerable to extirpation because of other factor(s). Nicely found, Sandy! Nearby, there was a green one and I posted a photo of it yesterday. This is a supermacro photo of a very small specimen that was maybe half to three-quarters of an inch across, (Sandy has a Licence to collect). The other green growths in this photo are the beginnings of Horsetails. I'd never only ever seen these when full-grown before.
www.bbsfieldguide.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/liverworts/Riccia_cavernosa.pdf
"In ancient times, it was believed that liverworts cured diseases of the liver, hence the name. In Old English, the word liverwort literally means liver plant. This probably stemmed from the superficial appearance of some thalloid liverworts (which resemble a liver in outline), and led to the common name of the group as hepatics, from the Latin word hēpaticus for "belonging to the liver". An unrelated flowering plant, Hepatica, is sometimes also referred to as liverwort because it was once also used in treating diseases of the liver. This archaic relationship of plant form to function was based in the "Doctrine of Signatures".
The greatest impact of Liverworts is through the reduction of erosion along streambanks, their collection and retention of water in tropical forests, and the formation of soil crusts in deserts and polar regions. However, a few species are used by humans directly. A few species, such as Riccia fluitans, are aquatic thallose liverworts sold for use in aquariums. Their thin, slender branches float on the water's surface and provide habitat for both small invertebrates and the fish that feed on them." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marchantiophyta
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Tags: Calgary Alberta Canada South Glenmore Park edge of Glenmore Reservoir nature Liverwort Riccia cavernosa listed as S1 pink Horsetails sprouting dried mud macro supermacro #GreatNature
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I was SO tired after a wonderful day in the mountains yesterday! I don't get out there very often at all, and certainly not as far as we went, so it was an absolute treat! Friend Sandy had found an interesting, tiny Liverwort there (seen in my supermacro photo) very recently and wanted to go back to see it at a different stage, hoping it would make ID a little clearer. She asked if I wanted to go with her - ha, yes, you bet! We went past Banff and Lake Louise, as far as Bow Lake along Highway 93. They do say that this scenic highway is the most beautiful in the world, and it's easy to believe. Supermacro photo of this specimen, found growing along the edge of the lake, on 10 August 2013.
"The Marchantiophyta i/mɑrˌkæntiˈɒfɨtə/ are a division of non-vascular bryophyte land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like other bryophytes, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information.
It is estimated that there are about 9000 species of liverworts. Some of the more familiar species grow as a flattened leafless thallus, but most species are leafy with a form very much like a flattened moss. Leafy species can be distinguished from the apparently similar mosses on the basis of a number of features, including their single-celled rhizoids. Leafy liverworts also differ from most (but not all) mosses in that their leaves never have a costa (present in many mosses) and may bear marginal cilia (very rare in mosses). Other differences are not universal for all mosses and liverworts, but the occurrence of leaves arranged in three ranks, the presence of deep lobes or segmented leaves, or a lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves all point to the plant being a liverwort.
Liverworts are typically small, usually from 2–20 mm wide with individual plants less than 10 cm long, and are therefore often overlooked. However, certain species may cover large patches of ground, rocks, trees or any other reasonably firm substrate on which they occur. They are distributed globally in almost every available habitat, most often in humid locations although there are desert and arctic species as well. Some species can be a nuisance in shady green-houses or a weed in gardens." From Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marchantiophyta
Sandy has just let me know the ID and great information for this specimen (collected with a Permit that she has):
"Unfortunately our find was not the rare species I had hoped for, but still a great find. This liverwort is Pressia quadrata, which the BBS (British Bryological Society) calls Narrow Mushroom-headed liverwort. They also mention that the thallus (body of the liverwort) has a distinctively hot taste when nibbled on the tip of the tongue! Well I had to try that and didn't notice any heat. Preissia is named in honour of B. Preiss, a nineteenth century physician from Prague. Quadrata may refer to the 4 cells in each white rounded pore on the thallus surface, that protrude into the pore making a cross-like opening. It may also refer to the usually 4 lobed angular sporophyte."
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Tags: Alberta Canada Banff National Park near BC border Bow Lake Bow Glacier Trail nature macro close-up supermacro Marchantia Liverwort Pressia quadrata Narrow Mushroom-headed liverwort North America Pressia #GreatNature
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I find Liverwort fascinating, and this very much enlarged photo shows very small "parasol" structures growing up through the surrounding mosses. I think this one belongs to the Marchantia species. Saw this one in the forest out past Bragg Creek, west of the city, three days ago.
"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.
Tags: Alberta Canada Bragg Creek Park southern Alberta west of Calgary nature botany moss Liverwort Marchantia green bokeh forest woods image photograph digital color image outdoors Panasonic DMC-FZ28 FZ28 Lumix point-and-shoot P1150524 FZ28 annkelliott beautiful_expression Maybe Marchantia and Rhizomnium Rhizomnium © Anne Elliott 2009 © All Rights Reserved
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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.
Tags: Liverwort Marchantia macro close-up Gemmae Gemma cups green #GreatNature Marchantia polymorpha
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