trichomania liverwort with translucent one-cell-thick leaves
- Size
- Width: 2–5 cm
- Lifespan
- 3–7 years
- Diet
- Grows on bark of trees, rocks, and wood in damp, shaded forests. Requires consistent moisture, high humidity, and stable bark surfaces. Forms leafy, hairy mats that cling tightly to the substrate.
- Habitat
- Grows on bark of trees, rocks, and rotting logs in damp, shaded forests. Forms distinctive, kidney-shaped, bright green fronds.
- Range
- Found throughout the North and South Islands on bark of trees, rocks, and wood in damp, shaded forests. Most common in lowland and montane forests with high rainfall. Also found in temperate regions worldwide.
- Endemism
- Native
- Main Threats
- None significant. This species is common and widespread. Localised threats include forest clearance, removal of old trees, and climate change reducing forest floor humidity.
- Population
- Not Threatened. Trichomania liverwort is common in damp, shaded forests throughout New Zealand, particularly on the bark of native trees and on rotting logs. It is a distinctive species that is easy to recognise once you know what to look for.
- Conservation Status
- Not Threatened
The one that looks like a tiny kidney has fronds that are undivided, kidney-shaped, and fleshy, a single, rounded leaf attached to a short stalk. The fronds are bright green and translucent, with a glossy surface that catches the light. They are arranged in loose clusters on the bark, each one a tiny green kidney. It is the liverwort of the organ shape, the one that looks like it belongs inside a body rather than on a tree, the one that is both familiar and strange.
What makes it special is the shape. Trichomania liverwort is one of the most distinctive liverworts in New Zealand. Its kidney-shaped fronds are unlike anything else in the plant kingdom. They look like tiny kidneys or small, fleshy leaves. The shape is a blurring of the line between fern, which usually have divided fronds, and something older, something more primitive. It is the liverwort of the ancient shape, the one that looks like it has been around since the time of the first plants, the one that is a living fossil.
The fronds are undivided, a single, rounded blade attached to a short stalk. The margin is entire (smooth) and often slightly wavy. The surface is glossy and translucent, with a network of veins visible when held up to the light. The colour is a bright, vibrant green. Under a hand lens, the veins are visible, a delicate network of lines running through the translucent tissue.
Biologically, the trichomania liverwort reproduces by spores, released from capsules on short stalks. The capsules are often hidden among the fronds. The spores are tiny, carried by the wind to new locations.
To find trichomania liverwort is to find the tiny green kidneys on the bark. They are bright, glossy, and kidney-shaped, a living organ on the tree. You can see the veins, the translucent surface, the ancient shape. It is the liverwort of the blurry line, the one that blurs the line between fern and something older, the one that proves that the oldest designs are often the most elegant.