Marsupella sphacelata

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Distinguishing Features

A reliable presence along subalpine drainages, M sphacelata is notable for its large, scorched purple leaves that are loosely arranged on long shoots that grow up to 7 cm long and 3 mm wide. The leaves are equally bilobed, the lobes rounded, sinus acute and margins plane. When fertile, antheridia and archegonia are found on separate plants (“dioicous”), not along the same shoot.

Similar species

There are other dark purple liverworts that can be found around subalpine drainage and on wet rock surfaces, but none of them have the large size and bilobed leaves of M. sphacelata. Jungermannia exsertifolia is large and dark but typically aquatic in subalpine drainage and its leaves are simple, not bilobed as in M. sparsifolia. The similarly scorched M. sparsifolia can grow in the same habitat, but its shoots are smaller (~ 1mm wide) and it has antheridia and archegonia along the same shoots “paraoicous”), not on separate plants (“dioicous”) as they are in M. sphacelata. M. emarginata and M. aquatica can be similar in size, but have paler leaves firmly held at right angles to the stem with margins that curve downwards, whereas the margins in M. sphacelata are plane and are found on leaves that are held laxly.

Habitat

Moist to wet rock outcrops, cliffs, ledges, crevices, boulders, humus, snowbed sites, bogs, peatlands, and tundra in the montane, subalpine, and alpine zones

Associated species

Harpanthus flotovianus, Scapania undulata, SPhagnum sp.

Distribution Map

Relevant Literature

• Godfrey, J.D. (1977). Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of southwestern British Columbia . [Doctoral dissertation, University of British Columbia]. UBC cIRcle.
• Hong, W. S. (2007). Scapania. In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (Eds.), Flora of North America North of Mexico (Vol. 3) . Oxford University Press.
• Wagner, D. H. (2013). Guide to the liverworts of Oregon: Scapania undulata . Oregon State University Herbarium.