Overview of a Typical Leafy Liverwort: Note the Leaf/Stem Organizational Pattern.

The Stems have an Apical Cell. They produce a leafy shoot. The Shoot has minimal conducting cells. The leaves are typically one cell thick and lack conducting cells.

Close-Up of Stem and Leaves for a Leafy Liverwort.

The region that contains "Primitive" conducting cells is called the Central Strand. You can observe differences in wall thickness and cell diameter in this cross section. The Epidermal Cells have thick cell walls. The Conducting Cells have a narrow diameter but have thin cell walls.

Leafy Liverworts generally live in wet environments like those on the right, above. They can be important pioneer organisms which help to stabilize soil. They clamber about on the substrate and do not produce markedly vertical leafy stems. They have few adaptations that protect them from desiccation BUT they have an amazing capacity to tolerate desiccation without losing vitality and they can be revived when water becomes available. This picture on the left above was taken along the Manoa Cliffs Trail in an area that was exposed to sunlight.