Living Beings
    Source-identified Marchantia polymorpha; Source-identified documentary image; see the original file for method and context. Framed for display
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    Marchantia polymorpha 179886473.jpg · Resized and converted to WebP for display. Source-identified documentary image; see the original file for method and context. Sandy Wolkenberg · CC BY 4.0

    Field guide · species

    Common Liverwort

    Marchantia polymorpha L., 1753

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    The authority credits the formal scientific description of the name. A year records publication of that description.

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    ViridiplantaeMarchantiopsidaMarchantialesMarchantiaceae

    Common liverwort spreads as a flattened green thallus rather than a stem with true leaves. Cup-shaped structures on its surface contain tiny propagules, making vegetative reproduction easy to observe.

    Public research profile · final editorial review pending.

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    Tree of lifeScientific lineage
    1. LifeLife
    2. DomainEukaryota
    3. KingdomViridiplantae
    4. PhylumStreptophyta
    5. ClassMarchantiopsida
    6. OrderMarchantiales
    7. FamilyMarchantiaceae
    8. GenusMarchantia
    9. SpeciesMarchantia polymorpha
    Advanced classification

    Complete source lineage, including intermediate ranks. The standard view uses Life and the eight principal ranks.

    1. cellular organisms cellular root
    2. Eukaryota domain
    3. Viridiplantae kingdom
    4. Streptophyta phylum
    5. Streptophytina subphylum
    6. Embryophyta clade
    7. Marchantiophyta clade
    8. Marchantiopsida class
    9. Marchantiidae subclass
    10. Marchantiales order
    11. Marchantiaceae family
    12. Marchantia genus
    13. Marchantia polymorpha species
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    Structure and identification

    The thallus branches across the substrate. Gemma cups and stalked reproductive structures help distinguish it from many other small green plants.

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    Habitat and range

    Damp, disturbed or recently exposed ground supports growth, including suitable burned sites and horticultural substrates.

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    Nutrition and metabolism

    Photosynthetic tissue supplies carbon compounds. Rhizoids anchor the thallus and assist interaction with the moist substrate.

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    Biological activity

    Rain splash disperses gemmae from their cups, allowing new thalli to form nearby.

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    Reproduction and life cycle

    Separate gamete-producing structures take part in sexual reproduction. A dependent sporophyte forms spores; gemmae provide an additional asexual route.

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    Geographic distribution

    The species is widely recorded, but subspecies and local habitat differences matter when interpreting records.

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    Ecological role

    Early colonization of exposed surfaces helps shape small-scale plant succession.

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    Distinctive adaptations

    A spreading thallus and two reproductive routes allow rapid occupation of suitable damp patches.

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    Conservation

    Local occurrence depends strongly on substrate and moisture. This profile does not infer a global category from its frequent appearance in disturbed ground.

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    Evidence

    Sources

    Connected life

    No reviewed ecological connections in the collection yet.

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