Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness
Presented in Association with the
Western New Mexico University Department
of Natural Sciences
Porella platyphylla (Linnaeus) Pfeiff.
Family: Porellaceae
Status: Native
Synonyms:
None
Porella platyphylla is a relatively large liverwort that grows into large mats on rock substrates. The leaves are ovate and entire with a large and entire dorsal lobe. There are also large underleaves, giving the impression from the undersurface that there are five large leaf-like structures across the stem (2 dorsal lobes, 2 ventral lobes, and the underleaf.) The oil bodies are minute and hardly visible even at 400x.
Please click on an image for a larger file.
Porella platyphylla, Olympus TG-6 pic of habit, photo Russ Kleinman & Karen Blisard, Black Range, Skeleton Canyon, March 3, 2021
Porella platyphylla (5x macro of ventral aspect), photo Russ Kleinman, Bill Norris, Scott Zager & Patty Vanderwaal, Mogollon Mtns., Catwalk, January 7, 2011
Porella platyphylla, 5x macro of dorsal aspect, photo Russ Kleinman, Bill Norris, Scott Zager & Patty Vanderwaal, Mogollon Mtns., Catwalk, January 7, 2011
Porella platyphylla, 20x photomicrograph of stem, photo Russ Kleinman, Bill Norris, Scott Zager & Patty Vanderwaal, Mogollon Mtns., Catwalk, January 7, 2011
Porella platyphylla, 400x photomicrograph of leaf, photo Russ Kleinman, Bill Norris, Scott Zager & Patty Vanderwaal, Mogollon Mtns., Catwalk, January 7, 2011
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