Bazzania trilobata
Bazzania trilobata desiccated www.bazzania.com Bazzania trilobata moistened
By E.K.H. 2006
By E.K.H. 2006
The
genus Bazzania includes leafy
liverworts named after one of Micheli’s patrons, a professor of anatomy from
Habitat
Bazzania trilobata is often found in large
clumps or dense widespread mats on boggy soils, forest ground, rotten logs, and
at the bases of trees especially in cedar swamps and hemlock or boreal forests
(Crum 1991, Glime 1993, Scher 2004).
Gametophyte
The
gametophyte is a vivid deep-green color, relatively large in size, with forked
branching (looks just like a ‘Y’). Unlike most leafy liverworts, Bazzania trilobata has an incubous leaf
arrangement. In this arrangement the three-lobed, or three-dentate, leaves of Bazzania trilobata are found in two rows
(with a much smaller underleaf having 4-5 lobes), but the edge of the leaf
closest to the tip of the branch overlaps the base of the next leaf. When one
is looking from the stem toward the tip of the gametophyte you see the illusion
of shingles on a roof. Most liverworts are succubous; the base overlaps the
leaf behind it, giving the opposite effect. Small root like branchlets can be
seen from the underside of the stem. Also unlike other liverworts, the leaves
of Bazzania trilobata do not lie
flat. Instead, the asymmetrical leaves drape down each side of the stem giving
a much more three-dimensional appearance to the stem and leaves.
Sporophyte
Spores
are generally released in May and well into the summer (Crum 1991). Like other
liverworts, soon after the spores are released from the sporangium the stalk
(or seta) of the capsule becomes soft and collapses. Both kinds of sexual branches of the
dioecious Bazzania trilobata are
ventral in origin and spindle-shaped perianths are obscurely 3-cornered above
(Crum 1991).
Interesting Facts
Morphologically
speaking, Bazzania trilobata is
extremely interesting, but a few other characteristics also set it apart. For
instance, some believe it to have the smell of sandalwood (Crum, 1991). Also,
extracts of dichloromethane and methanol of Bazzania
trilobata have been shown effective as a natural source for alternative
pest management in crop protection by serving as an antifungal agent (Mekuria
et al. 2005, Scher et al. 2004). One hundred-year-old herbarium specimens of Bazzania trilobata even helped unlock
the key to the crucial factor in DNA isolation of liverworts. Jankowiak et al.
(2005) found that successful DNA isolation lies in the method of drying, not
the age of the sample. Only about twenty scientific articles have been
published in the last twenty years focused on Bazzania trilobata. Most of the papers focused on lignan
derivatives. The genus Bazzania even
has a band named after it! http://www.bazzania.com
Note
There
is some resemblance, but very little relationship to, Lophozia barbata. On closer inspection one would find that the
leaves of Lophozia barbata are
four-lobed and succubous. Also, the underleaves are very inconspicuous (Crum
1991).
Literature Cited
Crum, Howard. Liverworts and Hornworts of
Glime, Janice M. The Elfin World of Mosses and Liverworts of
Jankowiak, K., K. Buczkowska and Z. Szweykowsda-Kulinska. 2005.
Successful extraction of DNA from 100-year-old herbarium specimens of the
liverwort Bazzania trilobata. Taxon.
54 (2): 335-336.
Mekuria, T., U. Steiner, H. Hindorf, J.P. Frahm and H.W. Dehme.
2005. Bioactivity of bryophyte extracts against Botrytis cinerea, Alternaria solani and Phytophthora infestans. Journal of Applied Botany and Food
Quality-Angewandte Botanik. 72 (2): 89-93.
Scher, J. M., J.-B. Speakman, J. Zapp and H. Becker. 2004.
Bioactivity guided isolation of antifungal compounds from the liverwort Bazzania trilobata (L.) S.F. Gray. Phytochemistry.
65: 2583-2588.
Yoda, H., Y. Nakaseko and K. Takabe. 2004. Studies toward a
synthesis of trilobatin B, a lignan from the liverwort Bazzania trilobata: asymmetric construction of the tetrahydrofuran
segment. Tetrahedron Letters. 45: 4217-4220.
Written by Emily K.
Hollingsworth
May 2006