FIGURE 1 in A special issue of Phytotaxa dedicated to Bryophytes: The closest living relatives of early land plants

FIGURE 1. Pleurozia purpurea Lindberg (1877: 16), Fiji (Photo: Matt von Konrat). Pleurozia holds a pivotal position in liverwort classification and evolution. Traditionally, Pleurozia with its complicate-bilobed leaves, has been included in or near Porellales within the leafy liverworts. Recently, Crandall-Stotler et al. (2009) placed Pleurozia in its own order in the Metzgeriidae which is supported by most molecular analyses. Pleurozia has an interesting morphology with trap-like structures in the water sacs of their leaves. Experimental evidence provided by Hess et al. (2005) showed that the structures in the water sacs are able to trap individuals of Blepharisma Americana (Ciliata). This is only the second liverwort genus where evidence has been provided to indicate that the lobules function in zoophagy.