| Colura | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Marchantiophyta |
| Class: | Jungermanniopsida |
| Order: | Porellales |
| Family: | Lejeuneaceae |
| Subfamily: | Lejeuneoideae |
| Tribe: | Lejeuneeae |
| Subtribe: | Cololejeuneinae |
| Genus: | Colura (Dumort.) Dumort. [1] |
| Type species | |
| Jungermannia calyptrifolia Hook. | |
| Species | |
Approximately 60, see text | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
| |
Colura is a genus of epiphytic type of liverworts and consists of approximately 80-90 species, [2] that are distributed generally in the tropics. [3]
Species in this genus are no larger than a couple millimetres in size and may possess small water sac organs formed from fused leaf margins that trap small ciliates. It is because of this trapping mechanism that some species have been suspected of carnivory, even as early as 1893. One such species, Colura zoophaga , was the subject of a study that aimed to investigate the assumed carnivorous habit among liverworts. The results confirmed that ciliates were captured and died within the water sac traps, which are not unlike the bladder traps of Utricularia . Whether the species attract, digest, or absorb the prey has not been confirmed, however. The epiphytic habit of the genus, requiring all nutrients to be acquired from rainwater, is similar to the habit of known carnivorous plants. [4] [5]
