A Year in the Valley

A Year in the Valley

Discovering the flora and fauna in a small square of Portmellon Valley

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  • Crescent-cup Liverwort (Lunularia cruciate)

    Crescent-cup Liverwort (Lunularia cruciate)

    I noticed this patch of liverwort on the stone steps leading down into the left-hand side of the watermeadow. 

    What is a Liverwort?  It is a spore-producing plant without the usual plant structures, but a collection of liver-shaped lobes.  Most Liverworts can reproduce by growing gemmae, which are buds of tissue that are dispersed from the parent plant by rainfall and grow into new plants.  The crescent-cup liverwort has crescent-shaped sconces which contain tiny green gemmae.  You can see some in the top right of the top picture.  Liverworts love damp and shady habitats.  They grow on stones, boulders, banks, and soil.

    Daisy D

    14 February 2024
    Mosses and lichens
    Crescent-cup Liverwort

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  • October 2024
  • September 2024
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  • December 2023
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  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • Spotted in September
  • Spotted in August
  • Spotted in July
  • Spotted in June
  • Conclusions