Mosses

Notes on moss identification.

The ‘amateur’ mentioned on the ‘About” file is really obvious among the mosses.

I have only been able to tentatively identify a few.

Numbers in the top left corner are to identify a partricular slide.

Any help really appreciated.

One tentatively identified is Byrum argentium.

Bryum argenteum – Silver moss.

Family Bryaceae.

A widespread moss that forms tight silvery, cushion-like masses up to 5 cm wide.

Stems, about 1 cm high, have a brown base, reddish middle and yellow-green upper part.
They branch occasionally and have brown rhizoids near the base.

The crowded spirally arranged leaves are ovate, concave, up to 1 mm long and overlap like tiles on a roof.
The base of the leaf is a translucent green but the tip is transparent giving a silvery appearance.
Leaves have a faint midrib and a short, tapering point.

Spore capsules are red or reddish-brown 1-2 mm long on a green and reddish-brown stalk up to 20 mm high.
There is a small, dome-shaped cap or operculum.
The stalk is arched and the capsules droop.
They have peristome teeth.

They can also reproduce by vegetative bodies that develop in the leaf axils.

Joan Frew.

Genus