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Conocephalum
Conocephalum is a genus of complex thalloid liverworts in the order Marchantiales and is the only extant genus in the family Conocephalaceae. Some species of Conocephalum are assigned to the Conocephalum conicum complex, which includes several cryptic species. Conocephalum species are large liverworts with distinct patterns on the upper thallus, giving the appearance of snakeskin. The species Conocephalum conicum is named for its cone-shaped reproductive structures, called archegoniophores. Common names include snakeskin liverwort, great scented liverwort and cat-tongue liverwort.
Species of Conocephalum are relatively common and widely distributed throughout North America, Europe and East Asia. Conocephalum often occurs in moist and shaded habitats and are also found in open woodlands, sandy banks, wet rocks and cliffs and moist soils.
Many liverworts produce different terpenes and aromatic compounds. Terpenoids and aromatic compounds are often accumulated within the oil bodies of many liverworts, including Conocephalum. Within Conocephalum, considerable variation in species have been identified based on chemical composition and these compounds been used to identify different cryptic species.
Three different groups of Conocephalum were identified baed on their unique primary volatile compounds. For example, the compound cubebol, a sesquiterpene alcohol, is characteristic of C. salebrosum. It has also been noted that C. supradecompositum has a distinct chemical composition compared to C. conicum as well, mainly that the Monoterpenoid content in C. supradecompositum is much less than observed in C. conicum.
Species of Conocephalum are distributed throughout North America, Europe and East Asia. Conocephalum salebrosum displays the widest distribution and is found throughout North America, Europe and Asia. In North America, C. salebrosum occurs throughout Canada and parts of the United States and has also been reported from Russia. In contrast to C. salebrosum, C. conicum is found throughout Europe and has been recorded in Norway, Finland, Great Britain, Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Ukraine, Poland and Russia.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Conocephalum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
