Guide to Liverworts of Oregon: Plagiochila porelloides (Torrey ex Nees) Lindenb.
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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 > 28a underleaves inconspicuous > 29b if rhizoids red, stems red > 30a dorsal leaf margin recurved > Plagiochila 1a vitta small or lacking > Plagiochila porelloides
Synonyms: Plagiochila asplenioides (L.) Dum. ssp. porelloides (Torrey ex Nees) R.M. Schuster (Schuster 1980; Christy & Wagner 1996; Damsholt 2002, where authority of the ssp. is given as [Torrey ex Nees] Kaal.); Plagiochila satoi Hatt. (Synonymy based on: Grolle & So 2000. Journal of Bryology 22: 24.)
Special Status: Until it was shown that Plagiochila satoi is not a distinct taxon from this species, considerable effort was put into searching for the supposedly rare species.
Recognition: The S-shaped insertion of the leaf gives the genus a distinctive appearance. This species is characterized by the lack of a vitta and dull to glossy but not shiny dry leaf surface.
Distribution:As with many liverworts with a wide distribution and broad ecological amplitude, this species is easy to recognize when it displays usual morphology: channeled, dentate leaves . However, aquatic forms and plants growing at extremes of its usual ecological conditions may lack well developed leaves or be otherwise difficult to recogize.
Comments: This is an extremely variable species and consequently there has been a confusing tangle of names associated with it. Up until now, I have followed Schuster and Damsholt's treatment of this as a subspecies of P. asplenioides. However, it appears that distinct species are at hand (Smith 1990; Paton 1999; Schumaker and Vana 2000; Schofield 2002). Our plants match P. porelloides from Europe and eastern North American in all respects except cell size. Schuster (1980, p. 372) pointed this out and named PNW plants P. asplenioides subsp. porelloides var. grandiretis. This name, however, was given without a Latin diagnosis and is therefore illegitimate. There might be merit in taking up that name as a subspecies of P. porelloides; I am not willing to take this step yet.
Measurements of the plant from Silver Falls, Coos County (DHW m1560), pictured below: leaf 1 average 32.4 μm wide X 36.6 μm long; leaf 2 average 32.8 μm wide X 35.7 μm long (n=20 midleaf cells in each).
Plagiochila porelloides McDowell Creek County Park, Linn County, Oregon. DHW s.n. 2 April 2012.
Plagiochila porelloides McDowell Creek County Park, Linn County, Oregon. DHW s.n. 2 April 2012.
Plagiochila porelloides Rainbow Falls, Lane Co., Oregon. DHW 3125.
Plagiochila porelloides, Lane Co., Oregon. DHW 6752.
Plagiochila porelloides - Left: Cherry Creek, Coos Co, Oregon. DHW 9047. Right: Cow Creek, Douglas Co., Oregon. DHW 7516.
Plagiochila porelloides- Silver Falls, Coos Co., Oregon. DHW m1560.[Cells with oilbodies.]
White Rock Fen, Linn Co., Oregon. DHW m1692.