Day 225: What strange lifeform is this? It is a bryophyte, but it is not a moss. It is a liverwort, specifically Asterella gracilis. Liverworts are not as abundant as mosses in the Pacific Northwest, and many of them go unnoticed because the leafy forms resemble some of our mosses very closely. This photo shows the female receptacles of this species. These reproductive structures have four or more lobes, each containing a single sporangium (the black "eyes"). As these ripen and prepare to release spores, the involucres (the white X surrounding the sporangia) will separate and will give the receptacle the appearance of having a lacy white skirt around its edge. The thallus (body), hidden beneath the moss, is a small lichen-like rosette, green on top, dark red underneath. Close examination of the thallus with a hand lens will show oil bodies as tiny dots in the tissue, a feature lacking in lichens and mosses.
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