ExplorePlants

Riccia

Riccia is a type of small, simple plant that grows in damp places like wet soil or near water. It looks like tiny green leaves forming a flat carpet on the ground.

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Riccia is a small, flattened green plant, often forming rosettes or intricate mats on surfaces. Its body, called a thallus, can be bright to dark green and may have tiny air chambers visible on its upper surface, making it look slightly textured. It lacks true stems, leaves, or roots.

KingdomPlantaePhylumBryophytaClassMarchantiopsidaOrderRiccialesFamilyRicciaceaeGenusRiccia

Riccia

Interesting facts

It breathes through tiny pores on its surface, like miniature mouths!

Riccia helps scientists understand Earth's very first land plants from millions of years ago!

Riccia is a liverwort, named for its liver-like shape! (Ancient people thought it looked like one.)

Some Riccia species can float and grow entirely underwater in ponds and aquariums!

Special abilities

Riccia can absorb water and nutrients directly through its flat body, as it lacks complex roots to do so.

Riccia has tiny capsules that release spores into the wind or water, helping it spread to new damp places.

Riccia can grow new plants from tiny pieces that break off, making it super good at spreading quickly.

Measurements & details

Height: 0.1-0.5 cm
Spread: 1-10 cm
Edible: No
Toxicity: None
Lifecycle: Perennial

Ecological connections

eaten by

Garden snail

Cornu aspersum

Snails graze on Riccia mats.

eaten by

Great grey slug

Limax maximus

Slugs feed on the soft plant tissues.

symbiotic with

Nostoc (Cyanobacteria)

Nostoc commune

Often found growing alongside Riccia in wet areas.

Traits

Nonvascular

This trait characterizes plants lacking specialized vascular tissues (xylem and phloem) for transporting water and nutrients.

Spore Producing

Spore-producing organisms reproduce by releasing small, often single-celled, reproductive units called spores.

Ancient Lineage

This trait signifies organisms belonging to a very old evolutionary group with ancestors dating back millions of years.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.