Lophocolea bidentata


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Lophocolea bidentata

	Lophocolea bidentata This plant is a "leafy" liverwort and was found growing in a shady part of George Square Gardens among grasses and mosses. The flattened pairs of overlapping leaves are characteristic of the leafy liverworts. The two "teeth" at the ends of the leaves help in identifying this liverwort , hence the specific epithet of "bidentata"
Lophocolea bidentata This image of the underside of Lophocolea bidentata shows the bi-dentate nature of the leaves. The dark brown areas on the stem of the liverwort are bunches of small rhizoids. They act much like the roots of higher plants, absorbing moisture and nutrients from the soil.
	Lophocolea bidentata A single leaf of Lophocolea bidentata as seen under the microscope. The leaf can be seen to be made up many individual cells arranged in a single layer.
Lophocolea bidentata At a higher magnification the hexagonal outline of the individual cells is evident. The granules visible inside the cell are oil bodies used by the plant to store oils.
	Lophocolea bidentata At yet higher magnification, the individual spherical chloroplasts can be seen within the cells. The chloroplasts are the chemical factories of the plant and, using sunlight , are able to produce essential sugars from water and carbon dioxide.
Lophocolea bidentata Not all cells in the leaf are hexagonal in shape and this image of the leaf margin shows some cells have five sides. Again the chloroplasts and some oil bodies are clearly visible inside the cells
	Lophocolea bidentata There are several different techniques available to the microscopist when observing a specimen. These include "Brightfield illumination", "Darkfield illumination" and the use of polarised light. The image on the far left is of one of the "teeth" of a leaf obtained using brightfield illumination of the specimen slide. The near left image was obtained using polarised light . This was achieved by observing the specimen between two sheets of polaroid film. By rotating the two sheets of polaroid relative to each other, it was possible to see the cell walls highlighted with a bright yellow/green hue.
Lophocolea bidentata This final image was taken using darkfield illumination. In this technique, the light is arranged to illuminate the specimen at an angle and does not pass directly through it as when using the brightfield method. The leaf shines against a black background and the individual chloroplasts gleam within the cells.