Liverworts or Hepatics 



Female flowers (archegonia). Flask-shaped. Cuts i, 2, 3, 

 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, show stages in development. Section in early 

 stage, i, shows a wall of cells ; an egg-cell and canal-cell in the 



i. 



The false peri- 

 anth is growing 

 down to en- 

 velope the old 

 archegonium 

 wall. 



8. 



The false 

 perianth en- 

 velopes the 

 archegonium 

 wall. 



enlarged base of the flask ; a canal in the neck of the flask and 

 the summit of the neck closed. Section in a later stage, 6, shows 

 a wall of cells: the egg-cell rounded up; the canal-cell shrivelled; 

 the canal open at the summit of the neck. 



....Ta.lsc. perianth. 

 . .J/ti.L 



..-, -Pedicel,, 



Spore-case, 



...Slaters. 



Gemma. 



Spore-case discharging spores. 



Marchantia polymorpha. 



Development of sporophyte. A section, 7, of the archegonium 

 after the spermatozoids have entered and fertilised the egg-cell 

 shows the wall of the enlarged portion of the flask surrounded 

 by an involucre, made up of segments, awl-pointed and finely 

 cut, into an irregular fringe often reddish in colour; the egg-cell 

 is divided into eight cells; the summit of the neck is shrivelled. 

 Section later, 8, shows the eight cells multiplied to form an upper 



97 



