Frullania sp., liverwort...

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Ken Ramos
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Frullania sp., liverwort...

Post by Ken Ramos »

Not much to do on a winters day, so I explored some very tiny samples of moss, not the ones you normally see on the ground and rocks but these were on the stem of a dead vine. :)

Image
Zeiss Axiostar Plus
2.5X/0.06 A Plan Zeiss (1st. image) 5X/0.12 CP Achromat (2nd. image)
Canon A570IS
Overhead 50W halogen flood illumination

Unusual looking little plants they remind me of being a species of Mnium sp. though I am not sure.

Image

The, what I am assuming to be, spore capsules at the ends of the plants are not what I am accustomed to seeing and they appear also to be dehiscent, as evidenced by the open ended tip of the plant. The plant stem and leaves together are about 1 mm in width. :)
Last edited by Ken Ramos on Tue Jan 29, 2008 5:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rjlittlefield
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Post by rjlittlefield »

Interesting spore (?) tips on these things, Ken. I don't suppose you happened to shoot anything at higher power?

--Rik
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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

I don't suppose you happened to shoot anything at higher power?
Sorry to say that I did not, though it did cross my mind to try and extract a tiny leaf using the dissecting microscope and take a look at the cells there at a higher magnification, being as though the leaves are only "one cell" thick. I had to use the dissecting microscope to remove this sample from the stem, they are very small and easily overlooked. I have yet to properly ID the plant itself.

Thanks Rik :D
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BJ
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Post by BJ »

Hi Team,

Way outside my area of knowledge, but I think that this is a "leafy liverwort". The two-ranked leaves are typical of this group. To stick my neck out, I would guess it is a species of Frullania. To go way beyond my comfort zone I would guess Frullania dilatata. This web picture is the best I could find

http://www.bi.ku.dk/tavler/thumb.asp?ID=5

There is a reproductive structure at the tip called the "perianth"....well there is if I'm right!

Nice photos BTW.

Ciao
BrianO
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Ken Ramos
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Post by Ken Ramos »

Hey great link there BJ, that is so neat! I did not know liverworts occured like that. I have always found them in the shady or dark damp places though much larger of course. Now I can put the ID to my image files, wonderful 8)

Thanks again...! :D
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