MOSSES AND LIVERWORTS (BRYOPHYTES) 271 



The asexual phase or sporophyte of Marchantia is not conspic- 

 uous, though when mature it sometimes may be seen without 

 magnification. It is evidently a little more complex than the 

 corresponding stage in Riccia. This asexual generation has a 

 foot and capsule, while in Riccia it consisted of a capsule only. 

 But the moss sporophyte is much more complex than either, 

 since it is much larger, has a foot, 

 seta, and very complex capsule, 

 and bears chlorophyll by means of 

 which it may do photosynthesis. 



FIG. 226. A leafy liverwort (Frullania) 



At A is a plant about natural size as it appears growing upon a piece of maple 



bark ; at B is an enlarged piece of the same plant, showing its leaves, rhizoids, 



and the peculiar stalked spore-capsule. Modified after Kerner 



253. Other liverworts. There are many kinds of liverworts 

 and they are world-wide in distribution. They are usually 

 found in damp and shady places. A few species live in the 

 water. In the moist tropics they may be found upon the 

 trunks or even the leaves of trees. 



The liverworts may have flat dorsiventral bodies, such as 

 were seen in Riccia and Marchantia, or they may be differen- 

 tiated into stem and leaf-like organs (Fig. 226), with the rhi- 

 zoids at or near the basal end of the plants. It is sometimes 

 difficult for any one except a specialist to distinguish some of 



