The Marchantiophyta is a division of plants commonly called hepatics or liverworts. They are typically small plants that are often overlooked. They frequently have the appearance of small irregular leaf-like plaques, often covering large areas of the ground but they may also occur on rocks, trees or any other reasonably firm substrate. They can also take on a form very much like flattened mosses. They most often occur in damp locations and are typically found in moderate to deep shade. Some species can be a nuisance in shady green-houses. They do not have flowers or seeds.

Overview

Botanically, liverworts are bryophytes, or non-vascular plants. They can most reliably be distinguished from the apparently similar mosses by their single-celled rhizoids. Other differences are not universal for all mosses and all liverworts, but the occurrence of leaves arranged in three ranks, the presence of deeply lobes or segmented leaves, or a lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves all point to the plant being a liverwort.