PATH WEED SPREADING FAST!

I have attached a picture of a weed growing in my paving that is
spreading at a fast rate. It has the appearance of small suckers in the centre. It is now spreading into my lawn and no matter what I treat it with it doesn't respond.
Can you help?

Re: PATH WEED SPREADING FAST!

Reply from Kathy C

Hi, Michael,
I am almost certain you pesky weed is Marchantia polymorpha, otherwise known as Liverwort. It is the bane of nursery owners as it thrives in containers in greenhouses, as well as on moist bricks in gardens (just like yours!). The cups on the leaves are called gemma cups and when water fits them, it spreads the plant - which explains why it is spready so rapidly. The annoying thing about Liverwort is herbicides alone will not control. You can apply them, but you must also try to keep the area it is growing dry (not easy to do when it rains, I know!). Another way to slow the spread of Liverwort is to limit fertiliser use - it loves to be fed. Finally, digging them out on a warm, dry day will help.
Kathy C

Re: Re: PATH WEED SPREADING FAST!

Reply from Michael Flynn

Hi Kathy C,
Thanks for your detailed reply. It does sound as exactly as you decribe so I'll see if I can beat it by the manual pain of scraping it all out! I have to wonder where does this stuff come from?? Thanks again

Re: PATH WEED SPREADING FAST!

Reply from Greenwich

Most defintitely a Liverwort - there are anything up to 10,000 species of these moss relatives out there!