2012 March 13 17:30

Location: 4 way intersection of the F lot trailhead

GPS 47* 04'38.73: N 122*58'24.27"W elevaton 154ft

Weather less than 40*F It snowed earlier in the day but it has melted.

Vegetation: PSME, THPL, POMU and GASH understory

Observations: either Kindbergia spp. or Isothecium is growing on the ground in a mat.

There is a fallen branch with Antitrichia curtipendula (? see pic) and some awesome lichens. P. navicularis is also growing nearby.

There is a fallen conifer branch that I can't identify with a liverwort growing on it. The bark of the branch is black and smooth. At first I think the liverwort if thalloid, with lobes like Riccardia spp, but when I look closer, the "lobes" have sporophytes growing out of them and they obscure the leafy liverwort underneath. It's very small and my hand lens isn't clearing anything up. It looks brown.

Animals: birds, 1 person.

Question: Is there an evolutionary advantage to making the perianth of a leafy liverwort look like a thallus of a strap liverwort?

Publicado el 15 de marzo de 2012 por homeformosses