Field Guide

Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens

Showing 11 - 20 of 43 results
Colony of umbrella liverwort with maturing archegonia
Umbrella Liverwort
Marchantia polymorpha
Umbrella liverwort is the most famous liverwort in the world. It grows in green ribbons and is very common on the soil of potted plants. It typically forms cuplike gemmae on its upper surface. Its palm-tree-shaped archegona are distinctive, too.
New York scalewort growing on the bark of a tree trunk
New York Scalewort
Frullania eboracensis
New York scalewort is the most common and easily recognized leafy or scaly liverwort. It forms tiny, delicate traceries on tree bark and is usually rusty or purplish red or green.
Floating crystalwort, Riccia fluitans, in an aquarium
Floating Crystalwort (Slender Riccia)
Riccia fluitans
Floating crystalwort, or slender riccia, is a type of liverwort that floats in lakes, ponds, and streams, forming dense, tangled mats in shallow water. It’s also used as an aquarium plant.
Wall scalewort, Porella species, growing on sandstone at Painted Rock CA
Porella Liverworts (Wall Scaleworts)
Porella spp.
Porella liverworts are fairly common in Missouri, but few people recognize them when they see one. These scaleworts are some of our many species of leafy liverworts — small, mosslike plants that form traceries on rocks or trees.
Fern moss, Thuidium species
Fern Mosses (Thuidium Mosses)
Thuidium spp.
Easy to identify, fern mosses look like tiny ferns. Just like many fern fronds, the branches lie on one plane and become shorter toward the tips. They even lean over like fern fronds.
Climacium moss, or tree moss, closeup showing treelike growth form
Tree Mosses (Climacium Mosses)
Climacium americanum and Climacium kindbergii
Tree mosses in genus Climacium look like miniature trees, complete with tiny upright trunks and long, slender branches clustered at the top. They form dense, thick mats in moist, shady places.
Common greenshield lichen (Flavoparmelia caperata) on a tree trunk
Common Greenshield Lichen
Flavoparmelia caperata
The common greenshield lichen is a medium to large, green foliose lichen. Common and widespread in eastern North America, it grows on tree bark.
Rock greenshield lichen growing on a rock
Rock Greenshield Lichen
Flavoparmelia baltimorensis
The rock greenshield lichen is a medium to large, green foliose lichen. Common and widespread, it grows on rocks and is especially characteristic of dry, igneous woodlands.
Ruffle lichen growing on a tree trunk, showing upraised thallus lobes and hairlike marginal cilia
Ruffle Lichens (Parmotrema Lichens)
Parmotrema spp.
Ruffle lichens are rather large, broad-lobed foliose lichens that are loosely attached to the substrate. The rounded edges of the lobes usually lift up and look ruffled. Hairlike cilia arise from the lobe edges. They usually grow on tree bark.
Stippleback lichen (Dermatocarpon sp.) growing on a rock
Stippleback Lichens (Dermatocarpon Lichens)
Dermatocarpon spp.
Stippleback lichens, or rock tripes, are almost always found on bluffs, boulders, and outcrops. They cling to their substrate by a single point of attachment and typically grow in clusters. The surface of these floppy-looking lichens is covered with tiny black dots.
See Also

About Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens in Missouri

Mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens seem rather similar, but these organisms are in very different groups. Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts are small, low plants usually found in damp habitats. Unlike more familiar plants, they lack veinlike structures and do not produce flowers or seeds — instead, they produce spores. Meanwhile, lichens are not plants at all: they are a collection of different fungi that have photosynthetic algae living within their tissues.