Guide to Liverworts of Oregon: Gyrothyra underwoodiana M.A. Howe
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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 > 12a leaves entire > 28b underleaves conspicuous > 32a underleaves bifid > 33 underleaves parallel sided > Gyrothyra underwoodiana
Synonym: None.
Special Status: None.
Recognition: Entire, rotund leaves have a characteristic "attitude" that one learns with regular observation. The forward pointing underleaves are distinctive but sometimes hard to see with a hand lens when the rhizoids crowd the stem apex.
Distribution: Grows on bare mineral soil; frequent on road and trail cuts near the coast. Less frequent inland; confined to lower elevations. Gyrothyra extends all the way out the Aleutian chain: rare on Attu, frequent on Adak (Schofield, pers. comm. email 1Nov07)
Comments: Considered a monotypic family, the Gyrothyraceae, the only family of bryophytes endemic to the Pacific Northwest.
Lynn Canyon, British Columbia, Canada. D. Callaghan. 31 May 2023.
South Slough, Coos County, Oregon. DHW m2428a.
South Slough, Coos County, Oregon. DHW m2428a.
South Slough, Coos County, Oregon. DHW m2428a.
Left: dorsal aspect; right: ventral aspect.