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In Tasmania, the Treubiaceae is represented by 2 uncommon but
distinctive species : Treubia
tasmanica and T. lacunosa. The foliage is interesting
because it appears intermediate between leafy and thallose
liverworts, with distinct leaf-like lobes, but no well defined
stems.
Treubia has been of considerable interest to the evolution of
liverworts, because its morphology has been interpreted as a intermediate stage between
leafy and thallose liverworts. Recent molecular evidence
lends some credibility to this as it suggests that Treubia and
Haplomitrium form an ancient group basal to all other
liverworts.
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