I usually find them in greenhouses... easy to see there. More challenging to find in the wilds as there are so many distractions. I am slowing down and that helps. Perhaps it is easier to pace myself after 80 years of looking. Age has its rewards. Thank you for sharing your insights and experiences here through words and pictures you create. Much appreciated.
Excellent post, I really like Marchantia, it grows in several places in Edinburgh, including a few of the cemeteries. (I shared a photo in this blog post, alongside a few photos of cherry trees https://craftygreenpoet.blogspot.com/2022/04/cherry-blossom-everywhere.html) I didn't know all the details about the reproduction though, so thanks for sharing that.
Please don't stop capitalizing common names. I've been doing it for decades -- it's the only way to avoid confusion. And yay! for Oxford commas...(I'm one of those unlucky people who copy-edits in their heads as they're reading, and Oxford commas would be very helpful in today's too-often un-proof-read writing.
Great job explaining a most complex life cycle. I sent a sample of a Conocephalum sp. growing along the river in my yard to a bryologist friend out west.He was very excited to see the cell sizes were far different from his Oregon species. Possibly a new one. Don't liverworts just make you happy?
And -- as someone who's old enough to have been forced to take 3 years of Latin in school, Mar-can-tia would be "correct," if there is such a thing anymore.
I understand the desire for enchantment, but luckily that is available anywhere one looks in nature. CHan just feels weird coming out of the mouth (my husband, who also took Latin, had the same reaction). BTW, I've come to realize that Latin/Greek pronunciations differ depending on who taught you, and therefore on who taught them, and on and on back in time, possibly back to the time of Linnaeus or even further.
So Seusslike! I'll be keeping my eyes open in damp spots from now on.
At my latitude (~45N) the archegoniophores are now little dried brown palms (with but very few new green ones still sprouting).
What a wonderful essay! Thank you so much:)
Excellent essay and many thanks for writing it - brings back wonderful memories of when I was searching for this ancient plant in my younger days!!
I usually find them in greenhouses... easy to see there. More challenging to find in the wilds as there are so many distractions. I am slowing down and that helps. Perhaps it is easier to pace myself after 80 years of looking. Age has its rewards. Thank you for sharing your insights and experiences here through words and pictures you create. Much appreciated.
Slowing down = goodness.
So hot.
Excellent post, I really like Marchantia, it grows in several places in Edinburgh, including a few of the cemeteries. (I shared a photo in this blog post, alongside a few photos of cherry trees https://craftygreenpoet.blogspot.com/2022/04/cherry-blossom-everywhere.html) I didn't know all the details about the reproduction though, so thanks for sharing that.
Thanks, Juliet. So much more to be said about these amazing plants, of course. (I've been spending time counting their cells 😀.)
So cool!!!
Please don't stop capitalizing common names. I've been doing it for decades -- it's the only way to avoid confusion. And yay! for Oxford commas...(I'm one of those unlucky people who copy-edits in their heads as they're reading, and Oxford commas would be very helpful in today's too-often un-proof-read writing.
Yay! I think we need to build a movement!
Great job explaining a most complex life cycle. I sent a sample of a Conocephalum sp. growing along the river in my yard to a bryologist friend out west.He was very excited to see the cell sizes were far different from his Oregon species. Possibly a new one. Don't liverworts just make you happy?
Liverworts = bliss. Oh, my -- can cells = truth? :-) We need to name a Conocephalum for you!
Conocephalum mickii
And -- as someone who's old enough to have been forced to take 3 years of Latin in school, Mar-can-tia would be "correct," if there is such a thing anymore.
I kinda want it to be Mar-CHan-tia. Sounds more enchanting. But, yeah, I agree with the hard C.
Fascinating. So many incredible wonders at our feet. I’ll be staring more closely at stones now.
Especially stones along woodland streams for lots more liverworts and mosses.
Great finds!
You're my gold standard!
What a compliment!
Catching up on reading your posts here has made for a great start to my morning, Bryan! That time-lapse video made it even better.
Thanks! (I myself now want to make some time-lapse videos. They're potent!)
I worked at a garden with incredible patches of these beautiful little cups and trees. Thank you for your insight on their reproduction 💚
I like the comparison -- cups and trees. Thanks, M.!
And another enriching, intelligible and witty lesson, thank you!
You've made my day. Thanks, Liz!
I understand the desire for enchantment, but luckily that is available anywhere one looks in nature. CHan just feels weird coming out of the mouth (my husband, who also took Latin, had the same reaction). BTW, I've come to realize that Latin/Greek pronunciations differ depending on who taught you, and therefore on who taught them, and on and on back in time, possibly back to the time of Linnaeus or even further.
Loved: "They predate many insects and birds and dating apps by hundreds of millions of years."