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~ a celebration of nature

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Tag Archives: moss

Common pocket-moss

03 Wednesday Mar 2021

Posted by sconzani in bryophytes

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Tags

British mosses, Common pocket-moss, Fissidens taxifolius, moss

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.

210303 Fissidens taxifolius (1)

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.

210303 Fissidens taxifolius (2)
210303 Fissidens taxifolius (3)

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.

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Mossy gravestone

27 Saturday Feb 2021

Posted by sconzani in bryophytes, nature, plants

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

moss, moss on gravestone, mosses

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.

210227 mossy gravestone (1)

Mosses grow very easily on next to nothing. They have no roots, and only need moisture and shady conditions to grow.

210227 mossy gravestone (2)

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.

210227 mossy gravestone (3)

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.

210227 mossy gravestone (4)

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329/366 Raindrops …

24 Tuesday Nov 2020

Posted by sconzani in autumn, plants, weather

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

moss, raindrops, raindrops on moss

… on mosses.

201124 raindrops on mosses

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358/365 Moss on a fence post

24 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by sconzani in nature, plants, winter

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

moss, moss on a fence post, raindrops on moss

Spongy, squishy, cushiony, yielding, springy …

191224 moss (1)

Today my eye was focused on the small things, my fingers drawn to the soft feel of domes of mossiness on the tops of aged fence posts.

191224 moss (2)191224 moss (3)191224 moss (4)

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62/365 Moist moss

03 Sunday Mar 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, nature, weather

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

moss, moss growing on brick wall, rain drops, water droplets on moss

With Storm Freya blasting us today, I only managed an hour’s stomp between rain bands but even that was difficult, trying to walk back up the hill from the marina into a 25mph head wind. My head was down, which was probably how I spotted these lovely bands of moss on top of a brick wall. It was interesting how the moss was only growing in strips where the mortar butted up against the terracotta bricks, not on the mortar or the bricks themselves. It sure looked pretty covered in rain drops.

190303 moist moss

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Up close and personal with moss

13 Tuesday Dec 2016

Posted by sconzani in nature, plants

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

moss

I have no words of wisdom to impart today as I know very little about mosses, except that they can be extraordinarily beautiful when viewed up close, which is how I seem to be viewing a lot of the natural world in recent times. I hope you enjoy these images.

(p.s. I have an extremely knowledgable friend who really knows his bryophytes and he tells me these are: Grimmia pulvinata (with old capsules), Kindbergia praelonga, Ceratodon purpureus and Campylopus introflexus. Thanks a lot, George!)

161213-moss-1161213-moss-2161213-moss-3161213-moss-4

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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