#marchantia polymorpha

[geopsych]

Reminding myself to be like nature, which always finds a way.

[botanybyyen]

This weeks microscopy features Marchantia polymorpha (Marchantiaceae), a species of thallose liverwort! Called the ‘common liverwort’ this species is probably the most well known of thallose liverworts. It is found on every continent except Antarctica and is used as a model organism. It can often be a horticultural weed and is very commonly seen in potted plants at nurseries. Which is exactly where I picked up this specimen. I had bought tubestock of an Acacia specifically for the reproductive Marchantia it contained, not actually for the Acacia.

There’s a few features I wanted to share (and part of why I got soooo excited when I saw this plant).

First off, air pores! These are almost the equivalent of stomata in higher plants. Their function is in gas exchange and they are those pin-prick like features surrounded by a whitish circle.

Next, a gemmae cup! For Marchantia these cups are circular (as opposed to crescent-shaped like in Lunalaria). Gemmae cups house asexually-produced gemmae that disperse via water. You can just make out some of them in the centre here.

Now we have my two favourite photos from the whole shoot. These are archegoniophores, which contain the female sex organs. They're stalked and tall and just stunning. Let's look at their underside.

These are mature sporophytes on the underside of the archegoniophore. They're orange/yellow and actually look like mini flowers or something. You can just make out the feathery fine threads of spores on the first image there. They're gonna go off and make the next generation of Marchantia.

Lastly we have an antheridiophore. These contain the male sex organs. There was only one on the specimen I got but thankfully it worked out, it wasn't too old to get goof photos of.

Anyway, hope you've enjoyed this little Marchantia appreciation post. I loooooove liverworts and need to make time to photograph more of them.

[dreams-in-daylight]

Found some umbrella liverwort :0

[anreill]

HOT Marchantia polymorpha are ready to produce spores and in your area!!!

Search bigarchegoniophores.com on your work computer now!!

[mossinformed]

CURSED MOSS FACT #002

Lampenflora: Cave Lamp Communities

If you find yourself in a cave tour with electric lights be sure to look for lampenflora around them! Cave lights have created a unique ecological niche that allows cyanobacteria, algae, mosses/bryophytes, and ferns to grow in the Deep zone, where light is too dim for plants to explore. Cyanobacteria usually are at the outermost edges from the light, followed by algae, then bryophytes like the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, with ferns being closest.

Caves can be refuga for rare mosses as well! Learn more here. This is a picture of a very small cave that was full of mosses along the Oregon coast.

[lazyevaluationranch]

11/7/2020 Liverworts.

The Blue Haired Girlfriend wants to develop a citrus plant that can live outdoors in our climate, which requires inventing a new kind of fruit. It's probably a lifelong project. The only citrus plant that grows here is Poncirus trifoliata, the hardy orange. It is small and fierce, with gnarled branches, thorns, and hard fuzzy fruits too bitter to eat. She is growing 200 tiny angry citrus trees in pots on the balcony; they're a year old now, cute and stabby as porcupines. The balcony has become a Tiny Angry Tree Sanctuary. 

When they're bigger, she will breed the Tiny Angry Trees to eachother or to well-mannered indoor citrus and try to produce something sharp and fierce and sweet that will survive here.

The Tiny Angry Tree sanctuary has been invaded by liverworts, probably from spores on pots we reused. They're flat green dirt ruffles that just lay about fancily on top of the soil. They're not hurting the tiny angry trees, since they don't have much in the way of roots; they just use nutrients and moisture from the top of the soil. They probably mean we gave the tiny angry trees more fertilizer than they needed.

Mostly liverworts reproduce asexually. They make little cups of spores to catch raindrops and use the water to spray the spores over to the next pot.

Not the inhabitants of Poncirus trifoliata #143! This is the party pot, and everyone has decided to opt for sexual reproduction and sprout some palm-tree-shaped genitalia. The Tiny Angry Tree, thorny and fierce, is surrounded by a knee-high thicket of horny liverwort appendages.

[cedar-glade]

A classic assortment of dolostone wet cliff dwellers, Clifton Gorge, Ohio.

[lovecraftsgarden]

Marchantia polymorpha

Common Liverwort, Umbrella Liverwort

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