[1] "no GBIF data to display"Moerckia blyttii
Marchantiophyta
Moerckia blyttii (Moerckiaceae)
Blytt’s Ruffwort
Infrequent
Distinguishing Features
Moerckia blyttii can be found under heathers along moist, soily or peaty slopes in near the timberline, where it grows as a green, simple thalloid liverwort with undulating margins, the entire plant up to 3 cm long and less than 1 cm wide. The upper surface of male plants is laden with smooth scales (see photo) that surround the antheridia along the thickened midrib-like central region of the thallus and the undersurface is laden with brown hairs. Similar scales and hairs are seen on seperate female plants, while in sterile plants, the brown hairs of the underside are present, but scales are absent.
Similar species
In its timberline habitat, this species could be confused with Pellia neesiana, Apopellia alpicola and Calycularia laxa, all of which can occur in similair habitats. Pellia and Apopellia never have the toothy scales on their upper upper surface as are found in M. blyttii. C. laxa does have scales on the upper surface, but it also has diagnostic pink-purple scales on its underside that are lacking in M. blyttii. Other species of Moerckia (M. hibernica, M. flotoviana) have pale hairs on the underside of the thallus and toothy scales on the upper surface, while the hairs on the underside of M. blyttii are brown and the scales on its upper surface are smooth.
Habitat
Moist to wet humus, mineral soil, cliffs, streambanks, shorelines, bogs, seepage areas, snowbed sites, heath, and tundra in the upper montane, subalpine, and alpine zones
Associated species
Sphagnum sp., Neoorthocaulis floerkei, Diplophyllum taxifolium, Calycularia laxa, Nardia compressa