Guide to Liverworts of Oregon: Porella cordaeana (Hueb.) Moore
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1b plants not peppery tasting > 2b underleaves sparsely toothed > 4b underleaf and lobule margins plane > Porella cordaeana
Synonym: NONE
Special Status: NONE
Recognition: Porella cordaeana is characterized by long decurrent underleaves and lobules whose margins are usually wavy, appearing ruffled near insertion. Underleaves are so widely spaced that in typical forms the stem is visible between them, while in all the other species of Porella the underleaves overlap and hide the stem between them. Another distinuishing character is that the decurrent portion of the underleaf in Porella cordaeana is usually as long as or longer than the free portion, the other species having relatively shorter decurrencies.
Distribution: Porella cordaeana grows on wood, bark, or rock but not soil; it is widely distributed in western Oregon, frequent from sea level to subalpine zone. It is found in a range of moisture regimes wetter than Porella navicularis. When a Porella is found on wet rocks next to a stream, it is most likely to be Porella cordaeana. In the riparian, hardwood forests of the Willamette Valley, Porella navicularis will be found at shoulder height and Porella cordaeana at ankle level.
Comments: The blue color that is the positive test for iodine in this species is probably due to a flavonoid, not to starch. The compound is likely saponarin, mentioned in Geiger et al. (1997) as the first flavonoid detected in a moss. I'm just guessing this is the compound found in this liverwort.
Porella cordaeana. Blue River watershed, Lane County, Oregon. D. Kofranek 6423.
Porella cordaeana. Blue River watershed, Lane County, Oregon. D. Kofranek 6423.
Porella cordaeana. Blue River watershed, Lane County, Oregon. D. Kofranek 6423.
Porella cordaeana. Blue River watershed, Lane County, Oregon. D. Kofranek 6423.
Porella cordaeana. Blue River watershed, Lane County, Oregon. D. Kofranek 6423.
Porella cordaeana. Blue River watershed, Lane County, Oregon. D. Kofranek 6423.
Porella cordaeana, Goodman Creek, Lane Co., Oregon.
Porella cordaeana; Left: ventral view; right: dorsal view (shows positive IKI reaction)
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