Marchantia polymorpha, with fruiting body, in a fire pit

For anyone unfamiliar with liverworts, Marchantia / Marchantia polymorpha is the pale green parts in the centre of the photo and the fruiting body is the small, green "umbrella" just to the right of centre, casting a shadow. I think I'm correct in saying this is male. The female plants have fruiting bodies that look more like miniature palm trees.

"Marchantia is a member of the Marchantiaceae, the Marchantia family. This family is one of many thalloid liverwort families. A thalloid liverwort is strap-like and often forms large colonies on the surface on which it grows. A liverwort is nonvascular green plant. It does not have phloem and xylem like ferns, conifers and flowering plants to transport water, food and minerals through the plant. As a result, liverworts tend to be small, only a few cells thick and grow in moist locations or in locations that dry out, but receive a lot of precipitation or fog. Many species of liverworts are found in the U.S. and Canada. Marchantia is among the largest and is often used in biology labs." From the link below.

www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/marchantia_po...

Yesterday, 3 August 2019, a small group of us were lucky enough to visit two neighbouring acreages west of the city. In fact, along the road that I tend to drive along each time I drive out west. Friend, Dorothy, knows the owners of the first property we went to and had arranged for us to come and do a bioblitz on their land. Nancy and Bill Cook have a beautiful, forested acreage and we were led along several different trails. Accompanying us was their big, black dog who was very sweet and determined to try and keep up with us, despite arthritic joints, which needed a few very brief rests. They were such welcoming and kind people and it was such a pleasure to help them learn a little more about what was growing and living around them. A juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was a surprise, and there was even an occasional fungus, including a rather fine coral fungus. We were also treated to coffee, iced tea and chocolate brownies. Thank you!

Part way through the day, we walked from their home to the neighbours, Dean & Charmaine Carton, who also knew we were coming. Their beautiful garden gave us a few lovely sightings, including a few bird species and, discovered growing on the ground inside a fire pit, a nice example of Marchantia liverwort, complete with fruiting body.

Our few hours out were greatly appreciated and enjoyed by everyone. I always think these outings are a win/win situation, with landowners gaining new knowledge plus a very detailed list of all the species found, and the rest of us always meet such lovely people and have a very enjoyable time.

Thanks so much, Nancy and Bill and your neighbours, for this experience. Thanks, as always, Dorothy and Stephen, for the ride there and back.