Liverwort

a flowerless plant allied to the mosses. The liverworts are divided into several classes. Those of one group have what are known as thalloid, prostrate fronds, looking as much like bits of green, corky leather as anything else, except that they are tender and often bear cups. They may be attached to the soil by rootlets on the under surface, or they may float, or they may be submerged. Those of the marchantia group, known as the common liverworts, grow in moist shade. The stem is a flat, prostrate, ribbon-like body, having no leaves but rooting in the mud. The upper surface bears cups and umbrella-shaped growths, both of which are concerned, though quite independently, in the propagation of the plant. The "cups" produce "buds." The umbrellas produce spores. Liverworts of still another sort look very much like leafy mosses. They may be distinguished, however, by the fact that the leaves are arranged in two ranks. All liverworts are propagated by powdery spores produced in little capsules. The members of the family are partial to stagnant waters, to shady banks, and damp places around springs. The best month for their study is June. They are of little practical interest to anyone but the botanist. See Mosses