save the Blue Tier
tasmanian liverworts - lepidoziaceae
Bazzania adnexa
The genus is represented by 9 species in Tasmania. They are relatively large leafy liverworts with geotropic ventral flagella; terminal growth is by forking. A key to the species has been developed recently and is listed below. This page is devoted to an aspect of B. adnexa that we discovered recently.
B. adnexa is a fairly common epiphyte on the Blue Tier; we have recorded B. monilinervis as well and over time expect to discover several more species.
We were examining a small section of another leafy liverwort, Marsupidium setulosum, when we noticed several leaves of B. adnexa lodged in between the other leaves. These were more or less intact, leading us to suspect that they have an abscission layer which enables them to break off cleanly at a certain stage of maturity i.e. at least some of the leaves are deciduous.
Of the 5 or more leaves present, 3 had started developing new shoots, mainly from the base but in one case higher up on the leaf surface. Under suitable conditions we expect these will develop rhizoids and establish as new plants.
We have not been able to ascertain if in addition to spore production and cloning through leaves they have another mechanism through gemmae which is more common for leafy liverworts.
Meagher & Fuhrer report in the book cited below that another species, B. hochstetteri has leaves that 'are brittle and break off easily'. We wonder if this is again due to an abscission layer.
 habitat |
 asexual reproduction |
 cells with oil bodies |
 spores and elaters |
Literature:
- Meagher, D, & Fuhrer, B.,
A Field Guide to the Mosses and Allied Plants of Southern
Australia, (ISBN 0 642 56828 6), Flora of Australia
Supplementary Series, Number 20
- Australian Biological Resources
Study/The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, 2003
- Meagher, D., 'Keys to the Australian and New Zealand species
of Bazzania', 2010 (unpublished draft)
- Engel, J.J. & Glenny, D., A Flora of the Liverworts and
Hornworts of New Zealand, Vol 1, p. 423-430; ISBN 978-1-930723-67-2
Page URL: http://www.bluetier.org/Liverwort/bazzania-adnexa.htm