Guide to Liverworts of Oregon: Lophozia laxa (Lindb.) Grolle
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Lophozia 1a oil bodies more than 15 per cell > Lophozia 2b leaf lobes acute > Lophozia 3a gemmae spherical; lower stem and rhizoids purple > Lophozia laxa
Synonyms: Lophozia marchica (Nees) Steph.; Heterogemma laxa (Lindb.) Konstant. et Vilnet; Schistochilopsis laxa (Lindberg) Konstantinova
Special Status: ORBIC List 2.
Recognition: Stems straggling through Sphagnum capitula, with two to three lobed leaves that generally show red pigmentation, are the main field characters. It belongs in the group of Lophozia with numerous, small, clear or few-segmented, oil bodies. Among these it is distinguished by the lack of underleaves, the rounded leaf lobes, ovoid gemmae, and restriction to Sphagnum.
Distribution: Grows on Sphagnum exclusively. Circumboreal, extending south along coastal western North America to Oregon.
Comments: The substrate is the primary reason for listing this species. Its occurrence in better developed Sphagnum communities, particularly coastal bogs, makes it an excellent indicator of sites that warrant special management consideration. The new segregate genus, Heterogemma, was recently established based on studies of molecular phylogeny (Konstantinova and Vilnet, 2009). However, this species is treated as Schistochilopsis laxa in the provisional (online) treatment of the Flora North America.
Vegetative shoot tip. Sand Lake Bog, Tillamook Co., Oregon. DHW 2427.
Male shoot tip. Sand Lake Bog, Tillamook Co., Oregon. DHW 2427.
Typical lax shoot. Sand Lake Bog, Tillamook Co., Oregon. DHW 2427.
Shoot, dorsal. Sand Lake Bog, Tillamook Co., Oregon. DHW 2427.
Leaf. Sand Lake Bog, Tillamook Co., Oregon. DHW 2427.
leaf. Sand Lake Bog, Tillamook Co., Oregon. DHW 2427.
leaf. Sand Lake Bog, Tillamook Co., Oregon. DHW 2427.
Leaf. Sand Lake Bog, Tillamook Co., Oregon. DHW 2427.