Identifying Liverwort 2

Identifying Liverwort 2

Marchantia Polymorpha 

Name: Marchantia Polymorpha
Common name:  umbrella liverwort
Family:  Metzgeriaceae

Collection Date: 9/22/16

Habitat: Found in moist environment. Typically grows on rocks or soil. Can be found in banks of streams, bogs, fens and dune stacks. Often grows in man-made habitats. 

Location: South Chagrin Reservation

Description: Thallose liverwort with flattened thalli. The thalli are forked. Thalli can grow up to 10 cm long. Usually green but can become brown when older. Underside has root-like rhizoids. Gametophores are umbrella shaped, hence the common name 

Key used: Henry S. Conard, 1979, How to know the mosses and liverworts

Keying Steps: 

Step 1: Airpores visible capsules on underside of umbrella shape walls at capsules with ring shaped thickenings 

Step 2: Open or half cups of dish shaped gemmae, 4-9 fingers. Archagonia on underside of umbrella 

Step 3: cups round, fringed, thalli with thin scales along margin beneath, air pores elliptic

Step 4: Thallus around 1 cm wide without sclerenchymatous cells, gemmae cups, surface papillae, ventral scales in 6 or more rows.  

 Figure 1: view of Marchantia Polymorpha under scope. Difficult to observe due to clumping of leaves.

 Figure 2: View of Marchantia Polymorpha to the naked eye. Brown is dirt and soil.

Identifying Liverwort 1

Identifying Liverwort 1

Metzgeria Furcata

Name: Metzgeria Furcata
Family:  Metzgeriaceae 

Common Name: forked vielwort  

Collection Date: 9/22/16

Habitat:Located near water. Found on the surface of rock.

Location:South Chagrin Reservation

Description: forked, slim with translucent thallose. Forms green mats around 1mm in size. Has a midrib. Thalli and mid rib fork at end. 

Key Used: Henry S. Conard, 1979, How to know the mosses and liverworts

Keying steps:  

Step 1: Thallus with out hairs on upper surface

Step 2: Underside of midrib 3-7 cells wide

Step 3: Marginal hairs, single thallus, 1mm or less wide. 

 

Figure 1: view of Metzgeria Furcata. View under normal conditions (not microscope)

Figure 2: View of Metzgeria Furcata under microscope. Notice geometric shapes on leaves.

Link: http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=MEFU4 

Moss Species Identification 2

Identifying Moss Sample Number 2

Leucobrym

Name: Leucobrym
Family:  Leucobryaceae

Common name: White cushion moss

Collection Date: 9/6/16

Habitat:woody forest with high density of canopy. Located on forest bed and surface of rocks.

Location: Hiram College woods behind Townhouses

Description:thin leaves, small and compacted. The actually body can be small-large dense and rounded cushion. color white to grayish or bluish green. Stems are forked.

Key Used: Karl B McKnight, 2013, Common Mosses of the Northeast

Keying Steps: 

Step 1: Sample was indentifed to be Arocarp.
Step 2: Leaf shape of sample was lance with no midrib.
Step 3: The Color of the sample helped identify it due to its odd white/gray/green color.
Step 4: The Sample was found to rarely contain a capsule.

Due to this information, the sample was found to be a type of spongy or carpet moss in the genus Leucobrym. It is undecided whether or not the sample is the Leucobrym Glaucum. 

Figure 1: Leucobrym seen under the dissecting scope.

Figure 2: Leucobrm Leaves under Microscope. Lack of Midrib.  

Link: https://www.ohio.edu/plantbio/vislab/moss/Jarrod'spage.html 

Moss Species Identification 1

Identifying Moss Sample 1
Hypnum Curvifolium 

Name: Hypnum Curvifolium   

Common name:  curveleaf hypnum moss
Family:  Hypnaceae

Collection Date:  9/6/16

Habitat:forest bed and rock surface. Under canopy of trees in forest.

Location: Hiram College woods

Description: Soft short leaves. Green and brown coloration. Small curved individual leaves with midrib.

Key Used: Karl B McKnight, 2013, Common Mosses of the Northeast

Keying Steps: 

Step 1: Determined moss was pleurocarpus.    
Step 2: Moss leave sickled shape with mid rib.
Step 3: Moss was found in forest and not submerged in any body of water.
Step 4: The shoots of the moss were not found to be swollen and the were leaves identified as flat and/or pleated. 
Step 5: Leaves closely bound to stem.
Step 6: The leaves were also curved but not in ringlets.
Step 7: The plant was found to be larger than 2 mm. 
Step 8: The shoots were creeping and tightly braided to one another.

All of this information led me to believe that the species of moss I had identified was in fact: Hypnum Curvifolium 

Figure 1: Hypnum Curvifolium Under Dissecting Scope. 

Figure 2: Another View of Hypnum Curvifolium Under Dissecting Scope.

Figure 3: View of Present Midrib in Leaf of Hypnum Curvifolium  

Links: http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=HYCU2