Conocephalum salebrosum
(Conocephalum conicum)

Snake-skin Liverwort, Great Scented Liverwort

[ click on any image below to see larger version ]


Family: Conocephalaceae

Okay, "Snake-skin Liverwort" isn't an official name for this liverwort, but is one suggested by Susan Munch in her book Outstanding Mosses & Liverworts of Pennsylvania & Nearby States, and it appears to be catching on. The other common name, Great Scented Liverwort, is also used and refers to the refreshing scent of the thallous when crushed. It is a large thallose liverwort, with structures that resemble scales on snake skins. Those structures are the outlines of its internal air chambers, with an air pore (the tiny dot) in the middle of each chamber.

It can be found along shady persistent streams and on stream rocks.

The scientific name for Conocephalum salebrosum has recently been changed to reflect its difference from its European cousin C. conicum; most books still refer to it by its former designation.




11 December 2016
Scott's Run Nature Preserve, McLean, VA
10 April 2016
Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA
(bright green is new spring growth)
10 April 2016
Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, VA
(bright green is new spring growth)
11 December 2016
Scott's Run Nature Preserve, McLean, VA
11 December 2016
Scott's Run Nature Preserve, McLean, VA
30 September 2017
Bull Run Mountains Natural Area Preserve, Haymarket, Virginia
   




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