Fragments From Floyd

"Wyrt" is Anglo-Saxon for "plant" so don't look for fleshy gibbosities on St. John's Wort, Spiderwort or Liverwort. And what good is a liverwort, you might ask? (We demand to know why we should care about anything that will not go in our billfolds, or a crockpot.) Well, according to the "Doctrine of Signatures", wyrts were put here with some visible indication of God's intention of how we should use these plants for our health and well-being.

Someone in Europe--probably a monk, priest or minister, since these were the keepers of nature-knowledge in those days--could plainly see that the lobed edges of this ribbon-like plant told us it was good for treating liver ailments. Hence, the common name.

This is probably about the most primitive true plant surviving in modern times. It lacks roots, vascular tissue, flowers or seeds. This one here is perhaps the most common species, Marchantia. You'll find it hidden back in cool, moist shade--like under the bluff I mentioned in yesterday's post, where I found this little colony. You can clearly see the pores that are open to admit the filtered sun. They give it a primitive, reptilian quality--like alligator skin, don't you think? You rarely see the other part of liverwort's life cycle, shaped like a tiny parasol, rising a half inch from the green, pebbled surface. And that's another story I'll spare you.

So now you can put to rest those questions about liverworts that have been burning in your mind since high school biology class. Aren't you glad you stopped by Fragments today! (Rhetorical. No comments needed. Besides, my MT spamguard would filter whatever you write and spank your hand and refuse you.)