Common Liverwort

More info for the terms: forest, prescribed fire

For information on prescribed fire and postfire response of many plant species, including common liverwort, see Hamilton's Research Papers (Hamilton 2006a, Hamilton 2006b) and these Research Project Summaries:

• The effects of experimental fires in an Alaskan black spruce/feather moss community
• Forest floor and plant responses to experimental fires in an Alaskan black spruce/feather moss community

common liverwort
umbrella liverwort

More info for the terms: dioecious, gametophyte

Common liverwort has a flat, branching form. The thallus is generally 0.8 to 4 inches (2-10 cm) long and 0.3 to 0.8 inch (7-20 mm) broad. Thalli are dichotomously branched and exhibit apical growth. Numerous rhizoids attach the gametophyte (thallus) to the soil. Smooth rhizoids penetrate the soil, while tuberculate rhizoids run horizontally along the surface of the plant. Common liverwort is dioecious [5,8,9,34].

Common liverwort is the most widely distributed hepatic in the world [47]. It is a cosmopolitan species that occurs from tropical to arctic regions [6,14,42,47].

More info for the terms: fire regime, gametophyte

Common liverwort rapidly invades burned areas by light wind-borne spores [19,39,45]. Exposed mineral soil and high lime concentrations present after a severe fire provide favorable conditions for gametophyte establishment [28,50,51,52]. FIRE REGIMES : Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find FIRE REGIMES".

Common liverwort revegetates areas where mineral soil has been exposed. Colonies aid in the renewal of the humus and prepare the soil for the establishment of other vegetation [49].

More info for the terms: peat, tundra

Common liverwort grows on a wide variety of sites within its range including cliffs, closed forests, alpine heathlands, peat bogs, minerotropic fens, springs, swamps, grasslands, and tundra [2,5,8,50]. It is most often found on moist or wet mineral soil, especially in recently burned areas [4,18,21]. Common liverwort grows best in subcalcareous soil conditions (pH 6.0) under full sunlight [42,46].

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

widely distributed, occurs in most types within its range

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

More info for the term: shrub

FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
FRES16 Oak - gum - cypress
FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES19 Aspen - birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
FRES25 Larch
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES27 Redwood
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES31 Shinnery
FRES32 Texas savanna
FRES33 Southwestern shrubsteppe
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES38 Plains grasslands
FRES39 Prairie
FRES41 Wet grasslands
FRES42 Annual grasslands
FRES44 Alpine

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

widely distributed, occurs in most types within its range

More info for the term: tundra

Common liverwort is found in various habitats ranging from tropical
forests to arctic tundra but is not a dominant or indicator species in
published classification schemes.

Commonly associated species in northern North America include postfire
invaders or sprouters such as willows (Salix spp.), blueberries
(Vaccinium spp.), fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), bluejoint
reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis), sheathed cottonsedge (Eriophorum
vaginatum), fire moss (Ceratodon purpurea), and other mosses (Funaria
hygrometrica, Polytrichum commune, P. juniperum, P. piliferum).

More info for the term: bryophyte

Bryophyte

Dichlorophen kills common liverwort [11].

AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DE FL GA
HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD
MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ
NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC
SD TN TX UT VT VA WA WI WY AB
BC MB NB NF NT NS ON PE PQ SK
YT

Historically, common liverwort was thought to be an antidote for diseases of the liver and tuberculosis due to the fact that its form and texture resemble that of an animal liver [8].

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Common liverwort gametophores appear and archegonia are ready for fertilization in early to late May [18]. Sporogonia mature and spores are released in July [18,34]. Gemmae production ceases in late spring in Michigan [27].

More info for the terms: cover, forbs, frequency, lichens, mesic, shrubs, succession, tree

Common liverwort is widely recognized as an initial or early invader of burned sites [7,17,24,36]. It exhibits dramatic growth following fire and in some cases attains 100 percent cover [25,29,33,37]. Common liverwort dominates the early moss-herb stage after a fire but does not persist through subsequent stages of succession [21,35,46,48]. In Alaska and Canada, common liverwort colonies are not present in prefire communities [40,41,53,54]. In northeastern Minnesota, cover of common liverwort on burned jack pine (Pinus banksiana)-black spruce (Picea mariana) sites increased until postfire year 3, but it was replaced by lichens (Peltigera spp.) by postfire year 5 [1]. Common liverwort produced large spreading mats on thin mineral soil and charred humus after a severe fire in New Jersey. The mats persisted for 2 to 3 years, then were replaced by shrubs and forbs [49]. In interior Alaska, common liverwort found in burned white spruce (Picea glauca) and mesic black spruce types had the following frequency and cover percentages [21]: Years White spruce Black spruce Stage since fire frequency cover frequency cover ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Newly burned 0-1 0 0 0 0 2. Moss-herb 1-5 15 1 6 8 3. Tall shrub- 3(5)-30 0 0 12 2 sapling 4. Dense tree 26-45 (WS) 0 0 30-55 (BS) 0 0 After the 1971 Wickersham Dome Fire near Fairbanks, Alaska, M. polymorpha was present in severely burned black spruce and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) stands but was not present in adjacent unburned control plots or in lightly burned stands. Marchantia polymorpha attained its highest frequency the third year after the fire when it reached 5 percent and 45 percent on black spruce and trembling aspen sites, respectively. Biomass production in grams per square meter was as follows [52]: Black spruce Aspen ----------------------------- 1973 0.1 0.5 1974 0.8 69.6 In Alaska, common liverwort was more predominant on well-drained sites than poorly drained sites after fire due to the fact that exposed mineral soil provided a more favorable seedbed [26].

Secondary colonizer - off-site spores

More info for the terms: gametophyte, gemma, sporophyte

Common liverwort has two alternate forms in its life cycle: a gametophytic stage and a sporophytic stage. The gametophyte propagates itself vegetatively and also produces the gametes which give rise to the sporophyte [8,9,55]. In sexual reproduction, antheridia and archegonia develop on separate plant bodies and are borne on stalked antheridiophores and archegoniophores, respectively. Fertilization takes place prior to elongation of the stalk, and a sporophyte is formed. Spores with hygroscopic elaters (slender threads that twist and coil as they dry and propel spores into the air) subsequently develop and are released [8]. As many as 7 million spores may be formed on each plant [55]. Vegetative reproduction may occur as a result of fragmentation or gemma cup production. In fragmentation, new plants are formed when older plant parts die at the fork of a branch of a thallus. The two branches then become separate individuals [8]. Gametophytes produce propagative structures called gemma cups. Each gemma gives rise to numerous gemmae that are released when the cup fills with water. Gemmae that are transported to favorable sites form a pair of young plants [9,27].

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
13 Rocky Mountain Piedmont
14 Great Plains
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

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Obligate Initial Community Species In central Canada, common liverwort is a primary invader of marshes and edges of small ponds that are associated with fluctuating water tables [12]. Common liverwort mats can interfere with the establishment of seedlings of other vegetation [22].

Marchantia aquatica (Nees) Burgeff

The currently accepted scientific name of commnon liverwort is Marchantia
polymorpha L.; it is in the class Hepaticae [16,34]. The following
varieties are recognized based on ecological and morphological
characteristics [13,14]:

Marchantia polymorpha L. var. polymorpha
Marchantia polymorpha L. var. aquatica Nees --often submerged with
the thallus erect or suberect
Marchantia polymorpha L. var. alpestris Nees --most often in dense
compact patches in alpine regions with prostrate
thallus

More info for the term: formation

Invasion and formation of common liverwort mats after fire helps to prevent soil erosion [43,44]. In southeastern British Columbia, common liverwort colonized mineral soil exposed by skid trails [38]. Common liverwort has a high lead tolerance and may be an indicator of high lead concentrations [10]. It also tolerates other heavy metals [14,30,32]. Gemmalings grow in lead concentrations to 400 parts per million (p/m) and zinc concentrations to 100 p/m. Copper suppresses growth but chelated copper complexed with ethylene-diaminetetraacetic acid is tolerated at high levels [15].