liverwort

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Close-up of the green, textured thallus of a liverwort plant with visible gametophytes, showing lobed, leaf-like structures typical of bryophytes.

Study spore-producing liverworts and their anatomic features such as gametes, thalli, and rhizoids

Liverwort archegonia

Green, flat thalloid liverwort Marchantia with several round gemma cups visible on its surface, growing on moist soil.

Conocephalum conicum, sometimes known as great scented liverwort; asexual plants (sporophytes) rise on long stalks from the leaflike thallus of the sexual plants (gametophytes)

A green thalloid liverwort with a single stalk-like archegonium, the female reproductive organ, emerging upright from its surface.

Learn about the history and reproduction of these strange-looking plants

liverwort: References & Edit History

More Articles On This Topic

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type	Description	Contributor	Date
	Add new Web site: Missouri Department of Conservation - Liverworts.	Aakanksha Gaur	Apr 17, 2022
	Add new Web site: New Zealand Plant Conservation Network - What is a liverwort?	Gloria Lotha	Feb 14, 2019
	Revised taxonomy.	Melissa Petruzzello	Mar 14, 2016
	Add new Web site: Wildscreen Arkive - Liverwort.	Surabhi Sinha	Feb 11, 2014
	Add new Web site: Rader's Biology4kids.com - Mosses and Liverworts.	Grace Young	Feb 04, 2013
	Add new Web site: Duke University - Liverwort Tree.	Swati Chopra	Nov 07, 2011
	Text describing the evidence of the first liverworts, which are also the first known land plants, in rocks from Argentina added.	John P. Rafferty	Oct 22, 2010
	Added new Web site: Royal Horticultural Society - Liverworts.	Neha Parwani	May 05, 2009
	Added new Web site: Kimball's Biology Pages - Mosses and Liverworts.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 21, 2009
	Added new Web site: Ohio State University - Liverworts.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 21, 2009
	Added new Web site: Australian National Botanical Gardens - Bryophytes - Liverwort.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 21, 2009
	Added new Web site: DermNet NZ - Liverworts.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 21, 2009
	Added new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Liverwort.	Dutta Promeet	Apr 21, 2009
	Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - Liverwort.	Shiveta Singh	Jan 02, 2009
	Article revised and updated.	William L. Hosch	Jun 23, 2008
	Added new Web site: The People's Backyard Nature - Liverworts.	Gloria Lotha	Apr 22, 2008
	Added new Web site: Biological Sciences at University of Massachusetts - Liverworts.	Gita Liesangthem	Feb 06, 2007
	Article revised.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Apr 07, 1999
	Article added to new online database.	The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica	Jul 20, 1998