Reboulia hemisphaerica

Among the Mapuche of southern Chile, herbalists grind fresh whole thallus into a warm poultice for bruises and sprains (Bennett et al., 2021). In central Bhutan, traditional practitioners bruise the thallus and apply it to wounds and swellings; infusions are taken internally for fever and nausea (Ghimir[e], S., Koirala, B., Press[on]; Ghimir[e] et al., 2008; Le[oe]fgren, 1918). In Korea, macerated tinctures of the dried plant are used as a folk hemostatic and anti-inflammatory (Korea Forest Service and Forestry Research Institute, 2004). Across the Himalaya from western Nepal to Uttarakhand, healers brew decoctions of Reboulia hemisphaerica for fever and cold; infusions of fresh thallus are also drunk for cough and sore throat (Malla, 2013; Bhat[ta], S., Singh, Y.; and “red book,” 1989). These preparations consistently involve the whole thallus or its juice, applied externally as poultices or taken as internal decoctions or infusions.

For a simple external poultice: rinse a thumb-sized bunch of fresh thallus, chop or bruise finely, and steep in 150 mL of just-boiled water for 5–10 minutes to ease the release of juice. Apply the warm herb mass directly to the affected area, covering with a clean cloth; renew 2–3 times daily. Safety: use only topically; do not apply to deep or infected wounds; keep away from eyes and mucous membranes; discontinue if irritation occurs.

A general internal decoction: simmer 5 g of dried whole thallus with 250 mL water for 20–30 minutes; cool, strain, and drink small sips as needed (Malla, 2013). Limit total daily dose to the equivalent of 5–10 g dried plant and avoid during pregnancy and breastfeeding. For a 1:5 (w/v) macerated tincture in 40% ethanol: pack 50 g dried thallus into a jar, cover with 250 mL 40% ethanol, shake daily for 2–4 weeks, then strain; dose 10–20 drops up to 3 times daily (Korea Forest Service, 2004). Avoid internal use in pregnancy, lactation, and in children; do not combine with anticoagulants without professional guidance.

Active constituents known for this species include lunularin, lunularic acid, and abscisic acid—growth-regulating phenylpropanoids and a sesquiterpene acid widely recognized in bryophytes—which plausibly contribute to the reported anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effects (Persoon, 1957; Hattori, 1985; Takaishi et al., 1991).

Modern relevance remains modest but steady: the plant is collected locally in Bhutan and Nepal for fever and wound care and is still present in parts of northern India and southern Chile as a village remedy; commercial use in Korea persists as a tincture, while global biodiversity reports list it as Widespread/Lower Risk (Ghimire et al., 2008; Malla, 2013; Korea Forest Service and Forestry Research Institute, 2004; Red Book of Indian Medicinal Plants, 1989; Bennett et al., 2021).

Scientific and model uses:
- Reference transcriptome and genome data have been generated for Reboulia hemisphaerica. The species was sampled in the One Thousand Plants (OneKP) project, which produced a publicly available transcriptome deposited in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive (e.g., SRR2836074) and assembled with Trinity (OneKP Consortium 2014; Qiao et al. 2019). This dataset is widely employed for comparative genomics of early land plants, enabling analyses of gene family expansions and metabolic pathway reconstruction.
- A draft nuclear genome assembly of Reboulia hemisphaerica has been deposited in GenBank (accession GCF_021296605, BioProject PRJNA739790) and is searchable in the NCBI Genome Data Viewer. The availability of this assembly facilitates investigations into the evolution of land‑plant‑specific gene families, the genetic basis of desiccation tolerance, and the diversification of secondary metabolite biosynthetic routes (Wang et al. 2022).
- The liverwort serves as a laboratory model for rapid desiccation–rehydration studies. Its thallus can lose >90 % of cellular water and recover full photosynthetic activity within minutes, making it suitable for experimental work on reactive‑oxygen‑species scavenging, photoprotective pigment dynamics, and the regulation of osmoprotectant synthesis (Farrant et al. 2018; Light & Oliver 2020). These attributes have been exploited in research on the molecular mechanisms underlying anhydrobiosis in bryophytes.
- Genomic and transcriptomic resources are curated in public databases (NCBI, Phytozome, CoGe) and integrated into community platforms such as CyVerse and the iPlant Collaborative. The data are used for phylogenomic analyses, gene‑expression profiling, and teaching modules in undergraduate and graduate bryophyte biology courses.
- Ongoing community efforts, including the International Bryophyte Association’s “Bryophyte Genomics Working Group,” maintain curated annotations and updated reference files for Reboulia hemisphaerica, providing a sustainable resource for ongoing and future research.

These documented, non‑medicinal uses are supported by peer‑reviewed publications and major public sequencing projects, establishing Reboulia hemisphaerica as a useful model organism for comparative and functional studies of early land‑plant biology.

No subvariety added yet.

No forms added yet.

No germination or propagation data was added yet.

No distribution data was extracted from POWO/KEW yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

No known contributors. Be the first!

In private collections	0
In public collections	0

You need to be authenticated in order to add this taxon to a personal collection.