Liverwort

Uncommon card · No. 126650

Liverworts are non-vascular land plants in the division Marchantiophyta ( ). Liverworts, mosses, and hornworts are collectively known as bryophytes. Like mosses and hornworts, liverworts have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle in which the sporophyte is dependent on the gametophyte. Some liverworts have a flat branching thallus, while others are leafy. They are distinguished from mosses by their single-celled rhizoids, the absence of a midrib or costa in the leaves, and the presence of membrane-bound complex oil bodies. There are an estimated 9,000 species of liverworts, most of them leafy. They occur in many terrestrial ecosystems worldwide, especially in moist tropical regions, although some are adapted to deserts and other dry environments.

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