''Marchantia berteroana'' is a liverwort species in the genus ''

Marchantia ''Marchantia'' is a genus of liverworts in the family Marchantiaceae and the order Marchantiales. The thallus of ''Marchantia'' shows differentiation into two layers: an upper photosynthetic layer with a well-defined upper epidermis with pore ...

''.

Description

''Marchantia berteroana'' is a flat, thalloid

liverwort The Marchantiophyta () are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of g ...

, with thallus up to 2cm long and 1.2cm wide. The thallus colour can range from dark green to yellow with a glossy surface, and is attached to the ground via rhizoids. Under a lens, pores can be seen on the upper surface. The gametangia (sex organs) grow vertically from the thallus, the plant is dioicous so individual plants produce male or female gametangia. The male gametangia are called an antheridiophores, they are short with a flat disc-like structure which is approximately 1cm wide. The female gametangia are called archegoniophores, they have a taller stem and an umbrella-like structure at the top, approximately 1cm wide, from which the common name is derived. They also reproduce asexually via gemma cups which form on the surface of the thallus, they are approx. 4mm wide and 3mm high. Gemma cups appear on the thallus more commonly in winter when rainfall is higher, as raindrops are required to disperse the gemmules. ''Marchantia berteroana'' contains the flavones isoscutellarein and hypolaetin 8-

glucuronide A glucuronide, also known as glucuronoside, is any substance produced by linking glucuronic acid to another substance via a glycosidic bond. The glucuronides belong to the glycosides. Glucuronidation, the conversion of chemical compounds to glucur ...

s. The composition and amount of these chemicals changes seasonally depending on the reproductive state of the plant, when gametangia are present there is an absence of acacetin and its glycosides.

Similar species

Marchantia polymorpha ''Marchantia polymorpha'' is a species of large thalloid liverwort in the class Marchantiopsida. ''M. polymorpha'' is highly variable in appearance and contains several subspecies. This species is dioicous, having separate male and female plants. ...

'' is a similar in appearance, it can be distinguished from ''M. berteroana'' by the colour of the thallus, ''M. polymorpha'' is a dull green and often has a dark streak in the middle of the upper surface. ''M. berteroana'' has brighter green thallus and usually no streaks on the upper surface. ''M. beteroana'' also has transparent scales on the underside of the thallus which help distinguish it from ''Marchantia foliacea'' which has dark purple/brown scales.

Ecology

Distribution

''Marchantia berteroana'' can be found in Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa, South America, Antarctica and, non-continental locations such as Papua New Guinea, Java, New Caledonia and various smaller islands.

Habitat

''M berteroana'' prefers moist environments such as near fresh water sources, waterfall splash zones and, forest floors. It is also known to be one of the first colonising species after bushfire in Tasmanian mixed forests.

Reproduction

See ''

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14646865 Marchantiales Flora of the Antipodes Islands Flora of the South Sandwich Islands