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 genetic information.
Metzgeriales is an order of liverworts. The group is sometimes called the simple thalloid liverworts: "thalloid" because the members lack structures resembling stems or leaves, and "simple" because their tissues are thin and relatively undifferentiated. All species in the order have a small gametophyte stage and a smaller, relatively short-lived, spore-bearing stage. Although these plants are almost entirely restricted to regions with high humidity or readily available moisture, the group as a whole is widely distributed, and occurs on every continent except Antarctica.
Jungermanniopsida is the largest of three classes within the division Marchantiophyta (liverworts).
Cavicularia densa is the only species in the liverwort genus Cavicularia. The species was first described in 1897 by Franz Stephani, and is endemic to Japan, where it grows on fine moist soil.
Biantheridion is a genus of liverwort in the family Anastrophyllaceae. Its only accepted species is Biantheridion undulifolium the marsh flapwort, or marsh earwort. It is found in Austria, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Its natural habitat is swamps. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Haplomitriopsida is a newly recognized class of liverworts comprising fifteen species in three genera. Recent cladistic analyses of nuclear, mitochondrial, and plastid gene sequences place this monophyletic group as the basal sister group to all other liverworts. The group thus provides a unique insight into the early evolution of liverworts in particular and of land plants in general.
Blasiales is an order of liverworts with a single living family and two species. The order has traditionally been classified among the Metzgeriales, but molecular cladistics suggests a placement at the base of the Marchantiopsida.
Aneura mirabilis is a parasitic species of liverworts in the family Aneuraceae. It was first described in 1933, as Cryptothallus mirabilis. Plants of this species are white as a result of lacking chlorophyll, and their plastids do not differentiate into chloroplasts.
Cryptothallus is a previously recognized genus of liverworts in the family Aneuraceae. The plants are small, and are white to pale green as a result of lacking chlorophyll. This feature led to the creation of a separate genus. The morphology of species assigned to Cryptothallus is very similar to that of Aneura. As a result, Karen Renzaglia in 1982 suggested that the only species then placed in the genus, Cryptothallus mirabilis, may be considered "merely as an achlorophyllous species of Aneura." Wickett and Goffinet argued the same position on the basis of sequences of nuclear, mitochondrial, and plastid DNA, and moved Cryptothallus mirabilis to Aneura. A 2010 molecular phylogenetic study confirmed the position of Cryptothallus within Aneura. This was accepted in the 2016 world checklist of hornworts and liverworts.
Solenostomataceae is a family of liverworts in the order Jungermanniales.
Petalophyllaceae is a family of liverworts in the order Fossombroniales. Most species are thallose; that is, the plant is not differentiated into root, stem, and leaf. The thallus is typically small and bears lamellae on its dorsal surface that give it a ruffled, leafy appearance.
Acrobolbus epiphytus is a liverwort species in the genus Acrobolbus. It occurs in New Zealand.
Petalophyllum ralfsii, the petalwort, is a liverwort of the order Fossombroniales. It is a small green bryophyte that occurs in the Mediterranean region as far east as Turkey, and along the Atlantic coast of Europe as far as northwest Scotland. It grows primarily on moist sand dunes.
Cephaloziaceae is a family of liverworts.
Petalophyllum americanum, common name petalwort, is a species of liverwort in the order Fossombroniales. It is endemic to the Gulf Coast of the United States in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. It was first described as the European species Petalophyllum ralfsii in 1919, but a detailed study later showed that the North American form is a distinct species.
Acrobolbus pseudosaccatus, synonym Tylimanthus pseudosaccatus, is a bryophyte, a species from the liverwort family Acrobolbaceae. The family grows on logs, rocks, and soil. Under certain circumstances, however, they are epiphyte, growing on other plant species.
Monoclea forsteri is one of the two species in the thallose liverwort family Monocleaceae. It is dioicous with the capsule dehiscing with a single longitudinal slit. Endemic and widely distributed throughout New Zealand, it is also the country's largest thalloid liverwort. Hooker described the species in 1820. The holotype is in the British Museum.
Petalophyllum preissii, the lettuce liverwort, is a species of liverwort that is the type species of the family Petalophyllaceae. It is found in Australia and New Zealand, and is at risk of extinction in both countries.
John E. Braggins is a New Zealand botanist and bryologist, known for his research into ferns and liverworts. Braggins lectured at the University of Auckland from 1969 until 2000, during which time he supervised and mentored a significant number of New Zealand botanists. During Braggins' career, he has taken part in the identification of 12 species and one suborder, many of which are endemic New Zealand liverworts.
Lophocolea mediinfrons is a species of liverwort in the family Lophocoleaceae. The plant was first described by John J. Engel and John E. Braggins in 2010 as Chiloscyphus mediinfrons, and has only been found on Ulva Island in New Zealand.
