Bazzania trilobata

Three-lobed whip Moos ( Bazzania trilobata )

The trilobal whip Moos ( Bazzania trilobata ) is a liverwort species of the family Lepidoziaceae and belongs to the group of leafy liverworts.

Features

The large and vigorous plants of this species usually grow in vast, dark green lawn or padding The individual shoots are dichotomously branched, grow ascending to erect, flattened to convex, 3-6 mm wide, usually by 3 to 5 cm, rarely to 20 centimeters long. Edge leaves are oblong ovate with three short, wide teeth on the blade tip, arranged overshot and dense dachziegelig. Under sheets are much smaller than the flank sheets 4 bidentate, usually somewhat wider than long and as wide or slightly wider than the stems. Characteristic are the whip-like, up to 5 centimeters long flagella at the Stämmchenunterseite. The lamina cells are about 30 to 40 microns in size in the center of the page, to have strong nodular Eckverdickungen per cell and 6-10 oil bodies.

The species is dioecious. Sporogone are very rare. The perianth is up to 6 mm long and 1 mm wide, the Seta 5 to 7 inches long.

Variety

A dwarf form of this species is Bazzania trilobata var depauperata ( Müll. frib. ) Grudges. This has 1 to 1.5 millimeters wide rung, more rectangular leaves and slightly smaller lamina cells with strongly thickened cell corners.

Habitat requirements and distribution

The trilobal whip moss growing on moist shaded ( var depauperata to drier and shaded ) sites, especially on lime-free forest floor and on non-calcareous rocks, further on rotten wood. In the mountains it is common in the plane usually rare. In the Alps, it rises to heights of 1,600 meters. It is widespread in the northern hemisphere.