Phylogeny and DNA taxonomy of derived liverworts

Frullania dilatata, a leafy liverwort in the Frullaniaceae family

Principal Investigator

Dr Harald Schneider

Project summary

  • Focus: The diversification of Porellales, especially the species-rich families Frullaniaceae, Lejeuneaceae, and Porellaceae

We are exploring the diversification of leafy liverwort families and the potential offered by DNA taxonomy.

The current focus of this project is on the diversification of Porellales, especially the species-rich families Frullaniaceae, Lejeuneaceae, and Porellaceae.

The two main research approaches involve:

  • estimating the diversification times of this major diversification of leafy liverworts and exploring the hypotheses of post-Permian, Cretaceous, and post-Mesozoic diversification events,
  • exploring DNA taxonomy as the way forward in liverwort taxonomy.

Museum staff

External collaborators

  • Jochen Heinrichs
    Georg-August University, Germany

Biodiversity research

We are creating molecular and digital tools to explore undiscovered biodiversity

Plants research

Studying a wide variety of plants, including bryophytes, ferns and flowering plants

Bryophytes collections

Examination of this material has revealed new data, with more yet to be discovered