05 Tuesday Apr 2022
Posted in bryophytes, plants
I really should look down more often. I mean to say: how could I never have noticed before the miniature forest landscape that is Common liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha)?
According to the Naturespot website, the ‘umbrella-like reproductive structures [are] known as gametophores. Those of female plants consist of a stalk with star-like rays at the top. These contain the organs which produce the ova. Male gametophores are topped by a flattened disc and produce the sperm.’
03 Wednesday Mar 2021
Posted in bryophytes
I was searching for the leaf mines on Hart’s-tongue ferns that I blogged about on Monday when I spotted this little moss. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to identify it, as I’ve discovered mosses can be rather tricky, but I took several photos anyway.
When I later checked out this species, the Fissidens, on the Nature Spot website, I realised I was on a hiding to nothing. Still, I recorded seeing the moss at species level and filed away my photos.
Then I got a notification about my record: the expert checking it had been able to make a more exact identification. So I can say positively that this is Common pocket-moss (Fissidens taxifolius). If you want to go down the rabbit hole that is moss identification, you can read more about it here.
27 Saturday Feb 2021
Posted in bryophytes, nature, plants
Tags
Graves may not be everyone’s idea of wildlife-friendly spaces but I’ve found cemeteries and grave-filled churchyards can hold some interesting, often unusual flora and fauna.
Mosses grow very easily on next to nothing. They have no roots, and only need moisture and shady conditions to grow.
I presume the indentations of the inscription on the gravestone, though shallow, would be deep enough to accumulate a little moisture and a modicum of dusty soil, and that’s all these little mosses required to thrive. The churchyard is also well shaded by hedges and tall trees, as well as the church building itself – again, perfect for the mosses.
Some people might think mosses and lichens should be scrubbed off gravestones or sprayed with chemicals to kill them. Not me. I can think of nothing nicer than to have my gravestone be home to little beauties like these, and my personal details spelled out in mosses.
26 Tuesday Jan 2021
Posted in bryophytes
Tags
British mosses, bryophytes, Grey-cushioned grimmia, Grimmia pulvinata, mosses, mosses on stone walls, Tortula muralis, Wall screw-moss
The bryophytes are a whole division of the plant kingdom that I’ve tended to avoid, apart from taking the odd photo of ‘moss looking gorgeous with raindrops’.
It’s time to change that, and I’m starting simple. These are two of the mosses commonly found on our local stone walls. First up, Wall screw-moss (Tortula muralis), which the excellent Nature Spot website tells me is ‘the commonest moss on many mortared or base-rich walls – both of brick and stone … It also grows on concrete, roof tiles and other man-made structures, as well as outcrops of natural, base-rich rock’. The webpage also has some key identification features and some excellent photos.
Growing next to the Wall screw-moss on a local wall, I also found the lovely hemispherical tufts of Grey-cushioned grimmia (Grimmia pulvinata), the most common of the Grimmias. Once again, Nature Spot has a detailed list of ID features to check. Mosses can be tricky to identify so my self-education in this field will progress very slowly, I’m sure, but I have had these two verified so it’s a positive start.
earthstar 
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