Liverworts苔 (Hepatophyta)

The plant body (gametophyte) of liverworts is typically dorsiventral. Over two-thirds of the species in this group are leafy, their plant body being differentiated into a 'stem' bearing ‘leaves’, which are arranged in rows. The lateral rows of leaves are each divided into a dorsal and a ventral lobe, whereas a third row of leaves (amphigastria) is present on the ventral surface of the stem in some species. However, the remaining one-third of the species are thalloid forms exhibiting a characteristic dichotomous branching pattern; they are more often used as representative examples in the laboratory practicals on liverworts.

Gametophyte of a leafy liverwort

In the next Chapter, we will go through the life cycle and two specimens of Marchantia, a thalloid form that can be found in Hong Kong.