liverwort
[ liv-er-wurt, -wawrt ]
/ ˈlɪv ərˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /
noun
any mosslike plant of the class Hepaticae, growing chiefly on damp ground, rocks, or on tree trunks and helping the decay of logs and the disintegration of rocks.
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Words nearby liverwort
liver-rot, liver salts, liver sausage, liver spot, liver spots, liverwort, liverwurst, livery, livery colors, livery company, livery cupboard
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for liverwort
British Dictionary definitions for liverwort
liverwort
/ (ˈlɪvəˌwɜːt) /
noun
any bryophyte plant of the phylum Hepatophyta, growing in wet places and resembling green seaweeds or leafy mossesSee also scale moss
Word Origin for liverwort
late Old English liferwyrt
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for liverwort
liverwort
[ lĭv′ər-wûrt′, -wôrt′ ]
Any of numerous small, green nonvascular plants of the division Marchantiophyta. Many liverworts reproduce asexually by means of gemmae. They also reproduce sexually, and their free-swimming sperm, produced in structures called antheridia, require liquid water, such as splashing raindrops, to reach the egg-producing archegonia. After fertilization, the small sporophyte grows directly on or in the gametophyte and is nourished by it. Liverworts are common in the tropics and often grow in moist soil, on damp rocks, and on tree trunks. Some liverworts have leafy bodies, while others have only a simple thallus. The name liverwort comes from the liverlike shape of the thalli of some species. See more at bryophyte.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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