Monoclea facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Monoclea
Monoclea forsteri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Marchantiophyta
Class:	Marchantiopsida
Order:	Marchantiales
Family:	Monocleaceae
Genus:	Monoclea Hook.
Species
Monoclea forsteri Monoclea gottschei

Monoclea is a special group of plants called a genus. It belongs to a type of plant known as a liverwort. Liverworts are small, simple plants that don't have true roots, stems, or leaves like many other plants.

There are only two known kinds, or species, of Monoclea. This genus is the only one in its family, called Monocleaceae. And that family is the only one in its order, called Marchantiales.

You can find Monoclea plants in several parts of the world. They grow in New Zealand, parts of South and Central America, and also in the Caribbean islands.

What is Monoclea?

Monoclea is a unique type of liverwort. Liverworts are some of the oldest land plants. They usually grow in damp, shady places. They often look like flat, green leaves or ribbons spread out on the ground or rocks.

Scientists study how plants are related to each other. For a while, some scientists thought Monoclea was so different that it should have its very own group, or order, called Monocleales.

But newer studies, which look at the tiny parts of plants like their DNA, showed something interesting. These studies found that Monoclea is actually quite closely related to another liverwort genus called Dumortiera. This helps scientists understand the plant family tree better.

Species of Monoclea

There are two main types of Monoclea that scientists have identified:

• Monoclea forsteri
• Monoclea gottschei

These two species are very similar but have small differences that help scientists tell them apart. They both share the unique features of the Monoclea genus.