Specimen #2 Marchantia polymorpha 

Figure 1: Marchantia polymorpha 

Figure 2: Up close look at the pores of this
liverwort. 

Name: Marchantia polymorpha 

Common Name: Umbrella Liverwort 

Family: Marchantiaceae 

Collected Date: 9/29/16

Habitat: Grows in moist soil and on rocks in damp habitats. Found on banks of streams, pools, bogs, and fens. Moist environment is the key place. 

Location: South Chagrin Reservation 

Description: Brown and green in color. Flattened thalli with forked branches. The underside is covered by many rhizoids which attach the plant to the soil. They can produce umbrella like reproductive structures known as gametophore.

Key Used: Conard, H.S. and P.L. Redfearn, Jr. 1979. How to Know the Mosses and Liverworts 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, Boston, Mass.

Keying Steps:

Step 1: Saw airpores were visible

Step 2: The capsules on underside had spirally banned elaters 

Step 3: The thalli had open or half cops of gemmae on the thallus

Step 4. Saw that there was archegonia on the underside 

Step 5: Saw that there was a very few long-fingered umbrella like structures which are known as the reproductive structures.

Step 6: Fringed female cups lead me to step #7

Step 7: They generally have thalli with thin scale along the margin beneath which lead me to step #8

Step #8: The thallus was about 1 cm in width

Step #9: There were no sclerenchymatous cells present 

Step #10: The gemmae cups were lined with surface papillae which lead me to the page that represented the liverwort specie Marchantia polymorpha.

Even though there were not any reproductive structures present (umbrellas) I still believe this is the correct identified liverwort. If you look the color of the liverwort and the shape of the leaves give direct evidence that it could be the Marchantia polymorphia. Also, there were rhizoids present which attach them to the sediment and when I picked up this particular sample there were rhizoids (root-like structures) present,