What are liverworts?
Like mosses, liverworts are bryophytes. So they are closely related, but differ in some important aspects of form and reproduction. Leafy liverworts look like mosses to the untrained eye, but thalloid liverworts are green ribbon-like, branched plants, usually growing along the ground. Marchantia and Conocephalum are two of the most conspicuous thalloid liverworts. Conocephalum is illustrated at right, while photos of Marchantia are in the section of this website on liverworts in greenhouses. VIII. What are lichens? Although lichens often grow with mosses, and people commonly confuse them, they are quite different. Lichens are a mutualistic association between a fungus and an alga or cyanobacteria. This site contains a few references to lichens, but we recommend that you visit LichenLand to learn more about them. See our examples of living with lichens.
