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Marchantiophyta
English: Hepatics; Liverworts; Marchantianae.
Name: liver moss from the signature theory, similar to a liver.
Genera: 9000 species.
Region: worldwide.
Habitat: moist areas, cover large patches of ground, rocks, trees; almost every available habitat.
Introduction
Marchantiophyta or Liverworts are the second Class in Bryophyta with about 14 genera and 9000 species. The name Marchantiophyta shows that is treated traditionally as a Phylum, as it ends in -phyta. There are then 3 phyla of mosses Anthocerotophyta, Marchantiophyta, Bryophyta. There is no Phylum mosses as the combination of the 3 clades is not monophyletic, although often the mosses in general are also named Bryophta.
From the point of view of the Plant theory, the mosses are treated as one Phylum, Bryophyta, which is divided in 3 Classes, which should be named Anthocerotoanae, Marchantioanae, Bryanae, as Classes have the ending -anae.
Plant theory
Marchantiophyta are placed in the second Class, related to the Carbon series. The Marchantiophyta are split in 2 Subclasses:
1. Hydrogen series: Haplomitriidae
2. Hydrogen series: Marchantiidae
Botany
Liverworts; non-vascular land plants; gametophyte-dominant life cycle, cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information; small plants, less than 10 cm long.
Rhizoids: single-celled.
Stem: not clearly differentiated.
Leaves: never have a costa, may bear marginal cilia; arranged in three ranks; deep lobes or segmented leaves; lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves; small, 2 to 20 mm rounded or with 2 tips.
Thallus: flattened leafless thallus or leafy like a flattened moss; leafy liverworts with leaves never have a costa and may bear marginal cilia, arranged in three ranks, deep lobes or segmented; protectedby a wax layer; different cell types, inner variety through the different cell types.
Taxonomy
Haplomitriopsida
Haplomitriales: Haplomitriaceae: Haplomitrium.
Treubiales: Treubiaceae: Apotreubia, Treubia.
Marchantiopsida
Blasiales: Blasiaceae: Blasia, Cavicularia.
Neohodgsoniales: Neohodgsoniaceae: Neohodgsonia mirabilis.
Sphaerocarpales: Sphaerocarpaceae: Geothallus, Sphaerocarpus.
Riellaceae: Austroriella, Riella (aquatic).
Lunulariales: Lunulariaceae: Lunularia cruciata
Marchantiales: 13 Families, 30 Genera.
Jungermanniopsida
Pelliales: Noterocladaceae: Noteroclada
Pelliaceae: Pellia
Pallaviciniales: 5 Families, 13 Genera.
Fossombroniales: 5 Families, 6 Genera.
Pleuroziales: Pleuroziaceae: Pleurozia.
Metzgeriales: simple thalloid liverworts; 14 families.
Porellales: 7 Families, ± 70 Genera.
Ptilidiales: Herzogianthaceae: Herzogianthus.
Ptilidiaceae: Ptilidium.
Neotrichocoleaceae: Neotrichocolea, Trichocoleopsis
Jungermanniales: 40 Families.
Literature
Crandall-Stotler B, Stotler R. E. & Long D. G.; Phylogeny and classification of the Marchantiophyta; Edinburgh Journal of Botany 66, 1, page 155–198; 2009.
Goffinet B. & W.R. Buck; Classification of the Bryophyta; http://bryology.uconn.edu/classification/.