Lepidoziaceae
Encyclopedia
A family
of leafy liverworts
. It is a group of small plants that are widely distributed.
Most of the species
of this family are found in tropical regions.
The main characteristics of the family:
1. Oil bodies
are small and unsegmented.
2. The leaves are never folded.
3a. In larger species, the leaves are three or four lobed (often dentate) and have an incubous
insertion.
3b. In smaller species, the leaves may be divided to their base as filaments.
The leaves are not folded, but are lobed or divided. Species which grow as larger plants have the leaf tips divided in two to three lobes or teeth. Smaller species typically have their leaves divided all the way to the base in two to five thread-like strands of cells. The underleaves vary as well, but typically resemble smaller versions of the lateral leaves.
The rhizoid
s are few and restricted to the base of the underleaves. Species of Bazzania
may have long ventral branches.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
of leafy liverworts
Jungermanniales
Jungermanniales is the largest order of liverworts. They are distinctive among the liverworts for having thin leaf-like flaps on either side of the stem...
. It is a group of small plants that are widely distributed.
Most of the species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of this family are found in tropical regions.
The main characteristics of the family:
1. Oil bodies
Oil body
An oil body is a lipid-containing structure found in plant cells. The term can refer to at least two distinct kinds of structures in different kinds of plants.-Oil bodies in liverworts:...
are small and unsegmented.
2. The leaves are never folded.
3a. In larger species, the leaves are three or four lobed (often dentate) and have an incubous
Incubous
The term incubous is used to describe the way in which the leaves of a plant are attached to the stem. If you were to look down from above on a plant where the leaf attachment is incubous, the upper edge of each leaf would overlap the next higher leaf along the stem...
insertion.
3b. In smaller species, the leaves may be divided to their base as filaments.
Family Description
Species may range from a light to dark green, with some species of Bazzania bluish-green to brown. When the plants branch, the branches do not grow from the underside of the stem.The leaves are not folded, but are lobed or divided. Species which grow as larger plants have the leaf tips divided in two to three lobes or teeth. Smaller species typically have their leaves divided all the way to the base in two to five thread-like strands of cells. The underleaves vary as well, but typically resemble smaller versions of the lateral leaves.
The rhizoid
Rhizoid
Rhizoids are thread-like growths from the base or bottom of a plant, found mainly in lower groups such as algae, fungi, bryophytes and pteridophytes, that function like roots of higher plants ....
s are few and restricted to the base of the underleaves. Species of Bazzania
Bazzania
Bazzania is a genus of liverwort in the family Lepidoziaceae. It contains the following species:* Bazzania bhutanica, N. Kitag. & Grolle* Bazzania flaccida Grolle* Bazzania tricrenata Lindb....
may have long ventral branches.