Guide to Liverworts of Oregon: Gymnocolea inflata (Huds.) Dum.
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1b plants leafy > 3b leaves not divided, not ciliate > 6a oil bodies 2+ or unknown > 7b no small dorsal lobe > 10a succubous > 11a anisophyllous > 12b leaves lobed > 37b if rhizoids red, stems red > 38a shoots wider than 1 mm > 39b underleaves inconspicuous > 55b leaves succubous > 58b shoots >1.2 mm wide > 59a leaf lobes rounded > Gymnocolea
Synonym: None.
Special Status: None.
Recognition: Small, blackish plants with bilobed leaves. The lobes are usually rounded at the tip; the sinus acute to rounded. The lack of bulging trigones and occasional presence of underleaves will distinguish sterile material from Marsupella sphacelata. The spreading lobes distinguish it from Nardia japonica, which may be in the same habitat.
Distribution: On peaty soil, in wetlands, lake margins, and other protected, moist spots at high elevations in the mountains.
Comments: An extraordinarily variable species, small to fairly large, pale to nearly black; underleaves obscure or prominent but sporadic. Not yet found in Oregon but to be looked for is Cladopodiella fluitans. Very similar in appearance to Gymnocolea inflata, this bog plant has not yet been found south of Washington State.
Shoot, dorsal aspect. Parish Lake, Linn County, Oregon. DHW m3017.
Shoot, ventral aspect. Parish Lake, Linn County, Oregon. DHW m3017.
Leaf. Parish Lake, Linn County, Oregon. DHW m3017.
Leaf. Parish Lake, Linn County, Oregon. DHW m3017.
Midleaf cells with oil bodies. Parish Lake, Linn County, Oregon. DHW m3017.
Midleaf cells with oil bodies. Parish Lake, Linn County, Oregon. DHW m3017.
Perianth. Parish Lake, Linn County, Oregon. DHW m3017.
Perianth with regenerating shoot. Parish Lake, Linn County, Oregon. DHW m3017.
Left: North Bend Ranger district, Washington. USFS 1590. Right: Skykomish Ranger District, Washington. USFS 1383.