Riccia fluitans

Submerged star liverwort ( Riccia ), submerged form

The Submerged star liverwort ( Riccia ), also referred to as flood end pond liverwort, is a floating on the water or submerged occurring liverwort. In autumn it sinks to the seabed. From the enduring Thallusspitzen new individuals develop in the spring. The dioecious liverwort fruchtet extremely rare, so that multiplication takes place almost exclusively by budding. As a collective species ( Riccia agg. ) Includes the taxon next to Riccia s.str. also Riccia rhenana Lorb. ex Müll.Frib. This taxonomically controversial clan can only be in the country and form the basis of the number of chromosomes differentiate and is therefore often not separated from Riccia considered.

Description

This liverwort is no rhizoids ( Wurzelfilz ). Its stock ( thalli ) are bright green, ribbon -like, multi- forked irregular and up to 4 cm long. The bearings of the floating form are narrow band-shaped and 1 to 1.2 mm wide. The landform is firmer, less forked and the thalli can be wide and 2.8 mm - however, this value reached only the taxon R. rhenana, while the terrestrial form of R. fluitans s.str. only to 1.5 (1.8 ) mm wide has thalli. The Thallusenden are rounded, slightly broadened, provided with one or two notches and underlying transparent air chambers, which have a net-like fielding ( Aerenchym ). Not infrequently respiratory openings are available. There are only a few colorless, crescent-shaped ventral scales along the center line formed ( compare, however, the floating liverwort ).

The Submerged star liverwort can over six months dehydration through good ( poikilohydrisch ) and drives the use of irrigation after about one to two weeks off again. A culture is even possible for younger herbarium.

Distribution and location

The Submerged star liverwort is spread worldwide and mostly inhabited shallow, sunny to shady, meso-to eutrophic weak, weakly acidic to calcareous or base- rich and clean stagnant water or slow flowing ditches. The floating form drives under water ( submerged ) or just under the water surface. Rare grow landforms on dry mud falling. Spongy - spherical pads are Immersed sometimes formed. The species or species group often comes along with duckweed plants ago of the genera Lemna, Spirodela or Wolffia and is at increased nutrient availability sometimes displaced by this.

Use

This moss is widely used in the aquarium hobby - as spawning substrate for fish and as an ornamental plant.