Overview of a Typical Leafy Liverwort: Note the Leaf/Stem
Organizational Pattern.
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The Stems have an Apical Cell. They produce a leafy shoot. The Shoot has conducting cells.
The leaves are typically one cell thick and lack conducting cells.
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The region that contains conducting cells is called the Central
Strand. You can observe differences in wall thickness and cell diameter in
this cross section. The Epidermal Cells have thick
cell walls. The Conducting Cells have a narrow
diameter but have thin cell walls. |
These are
small organisms which are generally restricted to wet sites. Some are epiphytic. This
specimen was photographed in the Puerto Rican Rainforest. |
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Leafy Liverworts generally live in wet environments like those on the right,
above. They can be important pioneer organisms which help to stabilize soil. They have few
adaptations that protect them from desiccation BUT they have an amazing capacity to
tolerate desiccation without losing vitality and they can be revived when water becomes
available. This picture on the left above was taken along the Manoa Cliffs Trail in an
area that was exposed to sunlight. They clamber about on the substrate and do
not produce markedly vertical leafy stems. |