| Summary: | Author Institution: Institute of Polar Studies, The Ohio State University, 125 South Oval Drive, Columbus, Ohio 45210 Specimens of Marchantia polymorpha, a thallose liverwort, were found on newly exposed ground in the crater formed by the 1969 volcanic eruption occurring on Deception Island, Antarctica. The nearest known source of propagules of this species is in South America, c. 1,000 km distant. Numerous propagules must have arrived on a small area of Deception Island in the recent past. Marchantia polymorpha appears to have great dispersal potential. Its absence in other Antarctic areas is probably the result of environmental rather than historical or geographical factors.
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