What does a liverwort gametophyte look like?
In broad terms, a liverwort gametophyte will show one of two forms, depending on the genus. In a leafy liverwort the gametophyte consists of leaves on stems. In a thallose liverwort you’ll see a flattish, green sheet – possibly wrinkled or lobed. Such a sheet is called a thallus and, in many cases, that’s all there is to the gametophtyte. However, in some thallose genera there’s a bit more to the gametophyte, as shown in the accompanying photograph of a Marchantia . Those umbrella-like structures, which have grown out from the flat, green thallus, are still part of the gametophyte. Those umbrellas will be explained at the end of this page.
