Marchantiaceae

Perennial, terrestrial, lithophyte or rarely on logs, dioicous with male and female plants similar size, or rarely monoicous (not in Victoria). Disc-shaped gemmae often produced in circular gemmae-cups on adaxial thallus. Plants comprising a dichotomously or monopodially branching thallus, sometimes innovating at apex (not in Victoria). Thallus differentiated into tissue composed of walls of cells that bound air chambers adaxial to solid tissue dedicated to storage, usually dark green, sometimes bluish or yellow- green, often becoming purple or brown at margin, glabrous, without adaxial grooves; margins entire to lobulate, undulate or rarely erect (not in Victoria); air chambers floored by free photosynthetic filaments or rarely not floored by free photosynthetic filaments (not in Victoria), almost always a single layer, rarely 2–4 tiers (not in Victoria), defined by polygonal boundaries on adaxial surface, much thinner than underlying storage tissue; adaxial epidermal cells usually hyaline, thin-walled, without trigones; air pores compound, surrounded by 4–8 rings of differentiated cells. Abaxial scales present, semicircular or lunate, in 4–6 or rarely 2 rows, those near midrib with 1–3 ovate, lanceolate, linear (not in Victoria), oblong (not in Victoria), reniform or orbicular appendages, hyaline, purple or red. Oil cells absent (not in Victoria) or present in storage tissue, and often also adaxial epidermis, air chamber walls and abaxial scales. Rhizoids present, without and with internal peg-like thickenings, between abaxial scales. Antheridia elevated above thallus on antheridiophore; antheridiophore comprising a stalk and receptacle, arising in sinus of thallus at apex of main or lateral branch; stalk with or without scales at base, with filiform scales along length, with or without compound air pores, with 2–4 rhizoid furrows; receptacle flat or convex adaxially (not in Victoria), 3–12-lobed, rarely unlobed (not in Victoria), with antheridia embedded in adaxial surface, with several rows of scales abaxially on lobes. Sporophytes elevated above thallus on archegoniophore; archegoniophore comprising a stalk and carpocephalum, arising in sinus of thallus at apex of main or lateral branch; stalk with or without scales at base, with filiform scales along length, with or without (not in Victoria) compound air pores, with 2–4 rhizoid furrows; carpocephalum convex from above, with 2–13 terete or flat lobes with involucres abaxial and alternating with or opposite (not in Victoria) lobes, with compound air pores adaxially; involucres bivalved, entire (not in Victoria) to ciliate, enclosing several or one (not in Victoria) sporophytes, each surrounded by a calyptra and pseudoperianth; pseudoperianth campanulate. Seta short. Capsule subglobose, dehiscence by irregular valves, unistratose; elaters present, 2–3-spiral. Spores tetrahedral, with wing at margin, or globose, ridged, sometimes granular between ridges, or smooth (not in Victoria), yellow or brown, shed singly.