Frullania riparia
Frullania riparia Lehm.
Jubulaceae
Conservation status. Critically Endangered [CR B2ab(iii)].
Morphology and biology. Perennial, leafy liverwort forming flat green to brown green mats. Shoots prostrate, irregularly pinnate, to 2 cm long. Leaves densely arranged in one plane, divided to the middle into 2 overlapping, unequal lobes. The upper leaf lobe is larger, broadly rounded, the lower is small, usually leaf-shaped, only in some leaves it is urn-shaped, more than 5 times smaller than the amphigastria. Amphigastria ca. twice as broad as the stem, to 1/3 bilobed. Unisexual, sporophytes unknown. Does not form gemmae.
Habitats and populations. Grows on shaded dry rocks or as an epiphyte on the bark of broadleaf trees. The populations have restricted distribution, low density and low dispersal potential.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Balkan Range (Eastern – Sinite Kamani locality).
General distribution. Balkan Peninsula (Bulgaria, Slovenia), C Europe, E Asia, North America. Sub-Mediterranean/mountain species.
Threats. Clearing of forests, tourism and air pollution.
Conservation measures taken. The only population of the species in Bulgaria is within the borders of Sinite Kamani Nature Park.
Conservation measures needed. To study the dynamics of numbers and area of the populations, as well as the biology and ecology of the species in Bulgaria; to elucidate the threat factors and monitor the populations.
References. Šmarda 1970.
Author: Rayna Natcheva
