Marchantiaceae definition

It is true that certain Bryophyta (Marchantiaceae, Anthoceroteae) possess a thalloid structure similar to that of Thallophyta, and are at the same time possessed of the colouring matter of the Green Algae.

The Marchantiaceae (see article BRYOPHYTA) show considerable tissue-differentiation, possessing a distinct assimilative system of cells, consisting of branched cell threads packed with chloroplasts and arising from the basal cells of large cavities in the upper part of the thallus.

But there is reason to believe that they have been differentiated quite independently in various groups, such as the Marchantiaceae, the Jungermanniaceae, and the mosses proper; consequently their phylogeny is not the same, they are polyphyletic, and therefore they are not completely homologous, but are parallel developments.