Habitat
This thalloid liverwort can be found growing on angiosperms such as alder and vine maple as well as in humid gorges,on slightly calcareous and siliceous rocks, as well as igneous rocks.
Gametophyte
Overall structure:
The thalloid of Metzgeria conjugata is typically pale green to yellowish green and the margin can curve downwards. The branching of the thalli is dichotomous and the tips are forked.
Thallus:
The thallus is dichotomously branched with an obvious midrib.
The cross-section shows the multistratose midrib and unistratose wings of the thallus.
Marginal hairs are generally paired.
Rhizoids:
Rhizoids can be found on the midrib while spiny hairs are found on the margins of the thalli. While it can be difficult to distinguish between these two, keep in mind that the rhizoids are unicellular and can be knobbed.
Male Gametophyte:
The perigonia of M. conjugata are characterized as being small and spherical structures that enclose the antheridia. These structures may be spiny and are found on the undersurface of the thallus.
Female Gametophyte:
The archegonia of M. conjugata are enclosed in a structure called involucre, which are elongated and spiny female structures that are much bigger than the perigonia. The position of the archegonia is anacrogynous, which means that the archegonium develops from a lateral cell as opposed to an apical cell.
Sporophyte
Overall structure:
This species only has one sporophyte per involucre.