Petalophyllum americanum

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Petalophyllum americanum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Marchantiophyta
Class: Jungermanniopsida
Order: Fossombroniales
Family: Petalophyllaceae
Genus: Petalophyllum
Species:
P. americanum
Binomial name
Petalophyllum americanum
C.H. Ford & Crandall-Stotler, 2002[1]

Petalophyllum americanum, common name petalwort, is a species of liverwort in the order Fossombroniales.[2] It is endemic to the Gulf Coast of the United States in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. It was first described as the European species Petalophyllum ralfsii in 1919,[3] but a detailed study later showed that the North American form is a distinct species.[1]

Petalophyllum americanum lives among grasses on sandy, seasonally dry soils of disturbed sites such as pastures, cemeteries, and parks, where it is commonly associated with the liverworts Riccia, Fossombronia, and Corsinia. The plants are thallose; that is, the plant is not differentiated into root, stem, and leaf. The thallus is small, typically about 8 mm long by 6.5 mm wide (0.3 in by 0.25 in), and consists of a midrib flanked by two wings that bear leaf-like lamellae on the dorsal surface.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Ford, C.H. and Crandall-Stotler, B.J. 2002. Contributions toward a monograph of Petalophyllum (Marchantiophyta). Novon, vol. 12, p. 334-337.
  2. ^ Crandall-Stotler, B.J., Stotler, R.E., and Long, D.G. 2009. Phylogeny and classification of the Marchantiophyta. Edinburgh Journal of Botany, vol. 66, no. 1, p. 155-198.
  3. ^ Evans, A.W. 1919. Notes on North American Hepaticae - VIII. Bryologist, vol. 22, p. 54-73.
  4. ^ Crandall-Stotler, B.J. 2017. "Bryophyte Flora of North America, Provisional Publication, Petalophyllaceae". Missouri Botanical Garden. Retrieved 4 September 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)