Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: PA040034

Liverwort

08 Oct 2007 214
This strange plant (a Liverwort) was growing at the Reader Rock Garden. Only very tiny, but fascinating when you take a closer look. "One reason liverworts are so curious is that in terms of the evolution of life on Earth, these plants are old. Liverworts are often referred to as "the simplest true plants." Instead of bearing regular roots, liverworts anchor themselves with rather primitive and simple, one-celled appendages known as rhizoids. Liverworts are called liverworts because long ago the people who named them felt that the curious arrangement of cells on the surface of some liverworts was similar to the cell arrangement in actual livers taken from animals." From backyardnature.net.