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The number of available liverwort fossils substantially increased within the past decade, which is mainly due to new findings from Cretaceous and Cenozoic amber deposits. Many of them, however, are fragmentary and not predestined for consideration in evolutionary analyses. Here, we list those liverwort fossils that we suggest as suitable for calibrating phylogenetic reconstructions, along with brief descriptions, justification of their use, and age information. Our recommendations are based on thorough microscopic investigation of available fossils from worldwide amber collections including recent findings. We recommend that the following 42 fossil taxa can be used as confident minimum age constraints in phylogenetic reconstructions: Acrolejeunea ucrainica (35 Ma), Anastrophyllum rovnoi (35 Ma), Bazzania polyodus (34 Ma), Blepharolejeunea obovata (15 Ma), the genus Bryopteris with B. bispinosa and B. succinea (15 Ma), Calypogeia stenzeliana (34 Ma), Cephaloziella nadezhdae (35 Ma), the genus Ceratolejeunea with C. antiqua, C. palaeomexicana, and C. sublaetefusca (15 Ma), Cheilolejeunea latiloba (34 Ma), Cheirorhiza brittae (158 Ma), Cololejeunea sp. (15 Ma), Cyclolejeunea archaica (15 Ma), Dibrachiella grollei (15 Ma), Diettertia montanensis (112 Ma), Drepanolejeunea eogena (15 Ma), the genus Frullania with F. baerlocheri, F. cretacea, and F. partita (99 Ma), Frullania subgen. Frullania with F. casparyi (34 Ma) and F. riclefgrollei (35 Ma), F. subgen. Trachycolea with F. rovnoi (35 Ma) and F. schumannii (34 Ma), Gackstroemia cretacea (99 Ma), Geocalyx heinrichsii (34 Ma), the genus Lejeunea with L. hamatiloba, L. miocenica, L. resinata, and L. urbanioides (15 Ma), Lopholejeunea subnigricans (15 Ma), Marchantites cyathodoides (228 Ma), Marchesinia brachiata (15 Ma), Metzgeriothallus sharonae (383 Ma), Microlejeunea nyiahae (52 Ma), Neurolejeunea macrostipula (15 Ma), Nipponolejeunea europaea (34 Ma), Notoscyphus balticus (34 Ma), Odontoschisma (sect. Iwatsukia) dimorpha (34 Ma), Plagiochila groehnii (34 Ma), Porella subgrandiloba (34 Ma), Protolophozia kutscheri (34 Ma), Radula (subgen. Odontoradula) cretacea (99 Ma), R. (subgen. Amentuloradula) heinrichsii (99 Ma), Scapania hoffeinsiana (34 Ma), Solenostoma berendtii (34 Ma), Spruceanthus polonicus (34 Ma), Stictolejeunea squamata (15 Ma), Tetralophozia groehnii (34 Ma), Thysananthus auriculatus (15 Ma), Thysananthus contortus (34 Ma). Furthermore, we transfer Lophozia kutscheri to Protolophozia, Archilejeunea grollei to Dibrachiella, Frullania ucrainica to Acrolejeunea, and Mastigolejeunea extincta to Spruceanthus, based on new fossil evidence and morphological revisions.

A Paleogene fossil of a leafy liverwort that had earlier been assigned to the extant species Notoscyphus lutescens is described as Notoscyphus grollei, sp. nov. It differs from all other Notoscyphus taxa by mammillose-papillose leaf cells.

A new resinicolous species of the genus Chaenothecopsis (Ascomycota, Mycocaliciales) is described from resin of Agathis ovata in New Caledonia. Chaenothecopsis neocaledonica sp. nov. is the first mycocalicioid fungus to be described from the exudates of Southern Hemisphere conifers of the family Araucariaceae. It is easily distinguished from related Northern Hemisphere species by its larger ascospores and unique capitulum structure.

The derived liverwort Leiolejeunea grandiflora was recollected at the type locality in Jamaica after more than 100 years. The characteristics of its oil bodies were described for the first time based on the new collections. Each leaf cell possesses 2-4(-6) rather small, subhomogeneous to very finely segmented, subglobose to ellipsoidal, colorless oil bodies. The plants were either dioicous or autoicous. DNA sequences of two chloroplast regions (trnL-trnF, rbcL) and the nuclear ribosomal ITS region were obtained for two accessions of Leiolejeunea to enable the inference of the phylogenetic relationships of these plants. Based on Bayesian inference of phylogeny as well as maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses of a dataset including 87 representatives of Lejeuneaceae, Leiolejeunea was found as the putative sister to either Echinolejeuneinae or Cheilolejeuneinae. Thus, we propose the new monogeneric subtribe Leiolejeuneinae with relationships to Cheilolejeuneinae and Echinolejeuneinae. The analyses included also one accession of the generitype of Cheilolejeunea, C. decidua [= Cheilolejeunea adnata]. This species was found in a well supported sister relationship with Cystolejeunea. To avoid nomenclatural confusion, we propose a wide genus concept for Cheilolejeunea including Aureolejeunea, Cyrtolejeunea, Cystolejeunea, Evansiolejeunea, Leucolejeunea, and Omphalanthus.

Lejeuneaceae are the most species rich family of leafy liverworts and arguably the most difficult group in terms of generic delimitation. Although much progress has been made in recent years, the generic classification of Lejeuneaceae has not yet been satisfactorily solved. Here, we present phylogenetic analyses of a three marker dataset (nrITS, cp DNA rbcL and trnL-trnF) derived from 113 accessions of Lejeuneeae and 13 outgroup species. Based on maximum parsimony analyses and Bayesian inference of phylogeny, we propose the new subtribes Pycnolejeuneinae and Xylolejeuneinae, reinstate the genera Cystolejeunea and Cyrtolejeunea, and transfer Otolejeunea from Cyclolejeuneinae to Lepidolejeuneinae.

Phylogenetic analyses of a three marker dataset of Lejeuneaceae (chloroplast genome rbc L gene and trn L-F region, and nuclear ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region) resolve the “ Lejeunea complex” in three main lineages assigned here to Harpalejeunea , Lejeunea and Microlejeunea . The taxa Harpalejeunea fischeri , H. filicuspis , H. latitans and Pluvianthus squarrosus are nested in a clade with several representatives of Microlejeunea including the generitype M. africana , and are transferred to the latter genus. Harpalejeunea and Microlejeunea differ from Lejeunea by the presence of ocelli. Harpalejeunea has diverging, blunt underleaf lobes in contrast to the forward directed, blunt to acute underleaf lobes of Microlejeunea . Morphologically similar accessions of Microlejeunea form independent lineages. Drepanolejeunea vandenberghenii is newly reported for Madagascar, Malawi and Reunion.

Phylogenetic analyses of a three marker dataset of Lejeuneaceae (chloroplast genome rbc L gene and trn L-F region, and nuclear ribosomal ITS1-5.8S-ITS-2 region) show the presence of the monospecific genus Sphaerolejeunea in a robust subclade of Lejeunea . We treat Sphaerolejeunea as a synonym of Lejeunea , and propose a new name for Sphaerolejeunea umbilicata , Lejeunea drehwaldii .

Myriocolea irrorata is an endemic rheophytic liverwort known from a few localities in the Eastern Andes of Ecuador. Morphologically it belongs to the Cololejeunea-Tuyamaella clade of Lejeuneaceae, however, due to its exclusively Radula-type branching, transversely inserted, hollow leaves, large size, and an extremely high number of clustered gynoecia it has often been regarded as an isolated element of this group. Phylogenetic analyses of a molecular dataset consisting of three markers (nuclear ribosomal ITS region, plastidic trn L-F region and rbc L gene) and 20 accessions resolved Myriocolea in one of the main clades of Colura , sister to the generitype Colura calyptrifolia . Based on the molecular topology and a reinterpretation of morphological traits, Myriocolea irrorata is transferred to Colura , as Colura irrorata . The example Myriocolea/Colura adds to growing evidence that rheophytic liverworts may develop unusual morphologies that hamper their classification using exclusively morphology.

A sterile liverwort inclusion in a piece of Miocene amber from the Dominican Republic is described and assigned to the extant genus Frullania . The remote leaf lobules of the fossil plant fragments resemble the polyphyletic taxon Frullania subgen. Diastaloba .