Field Guide

Mosses, Liverworts, and Lichens

Showing 1 - 10 of 16 results
Closeup of thallus lobe of snakeskin liverwort
Liverworts
About 112 species in Missouri
Liverworts, along with mosses, make forest floors, streamsides, and spring openings beautiful. They’re fascinating but overlooked.
Snakeskin liverwort growing on a rock
Snakeskin Liverwort
Conocephalum salebrosum (formerly C. conicum)
Snakeskin liverwort looks like large, flattened, irregular, overlapping straps. The surface is covered with polygon-shaped air pores, giving it a bubbly appearance similar to snakeskin. Look for it along streams, springs, and the moist bases of bluffs.
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.
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.
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.
Star rosette lichen (Physcia stellaris) growing with firedot lichen (Caloplaca sp.) on tree bark at Runge CA
Star Rosette Lichen
Physcia stellaris
The star rosette lichen is a super common, small foliose lichen that most often grows on trees, including trunks, limbs, and twigs. The pale gray thallus has branching, petal-like lobes. The center of the rosette is almost always crowded with apothecia cups with black or dark gray centers.
Orange sunburst lichen (Xanthoria sp.) growing on tombstone, closeup showing rosette growth pattern
Orange Sunburst Lichens (Xanthoria Lichens)
Xanthoria spp. (also Xanthomendoza; Polycauliona)
Orange sunburst lichens are orange or yellow orange. They have a circular, foliose growth pattern with tiny, branching lobes, but this pattern is often lost when these lichens form masses of tiny scale-like fragments. They can be very common on sunny rocks and tombstones.
Yellow cobblestone lichen (Acarospora contigua) on a rock
Cobblestone Lichens (Acarospora Lichens)
Acarospora spp.
Cobblestone lichens , or cracked lichens, grow flat against their substrate and are textured like lumpy cobblestone streets or old, cracked paint, or they are broken into sections like the mud of a dried lake. Depending on species, the color can range from white to greenish gray to brown to bright yellow.
A variety of foliose lichens nearly covering the trunk of a small redbud tree, with redbud flowers in upper right
Lichens
About 436 species in Missouri
A lichen is a composite organism formed by certain fungus species that join with certain algae species. Lichens can be many colors and can be crusty, leaflike, flaky, branching, or mossy. They grow on rocks, trees, or other surfaces.
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.