Whip moss
| Whip moss | ||||||||||||
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Bazzania trilobata |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Bazzania | ||||||||||||
| Gray |
The whip mosses ( Bazzania ) form a genus of leafy liverworts in the family Lepidoziaceae . It is a taxonomically difficult genus, predominantly found in the tropics and the southern hemisphere.
features
The plants of this genus are medium to large in size and grow in lawns, cushions or individually between other mosses. The rungs are simply or seemingly forked. The whip-shaped flagella on the underside of the trunk are characteristic; they arise from the axils of the lower leaves. Flank leaves are overshot, ovate to tongue-shaped and usually with a 2 to 3-lobed or toothed tip. Lower leaves are smaller than the flank leaves, square to rounded, slightly wider than the stem and short with 4 teeth, notched or with entire margins. The leaf cells usually have significant corner thickenings and contain relatively large, spherical to oval, water-white oil bodies . The species are diocesan. Gametangia are located on short ventral branches that arise from the axils of the sub-leaves. Perianthia are elongated, cylindrical below and triangular above, toothed to ciliate at the narrowed mouth. Gems are unknown.
Systematics
The genus has more than 100 species worldwide. In Europe and Macaronesia the genus is represented with 5 species, in the area of Germany, Austria and Switzerland the following 3 species occur:
literature
- Jan-Peter Frahm, Wolfgang Frey, J. Döring: Moosflora . 4th edition, UTB Verlag, ISBN 3-8252-1250-5
- Nebel, Philippi: Die Moose Baden-Württemberg Volume 3 . 1st edition, Ulmer Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-8001-3278-8
