Bazzania pearsonii

Bazzania pearsonii
Phylum: Marchantiophyta
Family: Lepidoziaceae
Genus: Bazzania
Common NameNone
FrequencyRare
© Connor Wardrop
iNaturalist
© Connor Wardrop
iNaturalist
© Connor Wardrop
iNaturalist

Distinguishing Features

This tidy green-to-brown Bazzania species forms loose patches on peaty substrates in wet coastal bogscapes. Leafy shoots are less than 1.5 mm wide and 4-8 cm long, with lateral leaves showing 2-3 teeth at their tips. The diagnostic feature for this species is on the underside of the shoot, where the underleaf sits undivided.

Similar species

The combination of toothed apices on the lateral leaves and presence of an underleaf is found in only two regional genera of liverworts. Some species of Calypogeia can occasionally have 2 teeth on the tips of their lateral leaves. Of those, only C. neesiana has an underleaf that is undivided, however that underleaf is laden with small rhizoids at its base which are absent in Bazzania pearsonii. B. pearsonii is the only species in its genus with an unlobed underleaf.

Habitat

Moist to wet, often shady rock outcrops, cliffs, ledges, boulders, humus, decayed wood, tree bases, bogs, streambanks, and tundra in the lowland, montane, and subalpine zones

Associated species

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Distribution Map

Relevant Literature