Nardia geoscyphus
Nardia geoscyphus (De Not.) Lindb.
Jungermanniaceae
Conservation status. Endangered [EN B2ab(iii)].
Morphology and biology. Perennial, leafy liverwort forming brown-green to reddish mats. Shoots prostrate, ascending at tips, up to 1 cm long and 1.5 mm wide, with dense, rusty-purple or colourless rhizoids. Leaves obliquely inserted, oval, entire, usually notched on fertile shoots. Leaf cells with elongated, opaque, oil bodies. Bisexual, usually fertile. Does not form gemmae.
Habitats and populations. Grows on eroded soil beside roads and on stream banks in beach and coniferous forests. The populations have restricted distribution and low density.
Distribution in Bulgaria. Belasitsa Mts (locality of Papulio), Rila Mts (the Musala part).
General distribution. Europe, North America, Asia. Boreal species.
Threats. The species is sensitive to the decrease of the air and substrate humidity and habitat disturbance due to forestry activities (forest felling, road construction, etc.).
Conservation measures taken. The species localities are within Belasitsa Nature Park and Rila National Park as well as in sites of the European ecological network Natura 2000 in Bulgaria.
Conservation measures needed. To study the dynamics of the 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. Podpéra 1911, Petrov 1963.
Author: Rayna Natcheva
