White tipped bristle moss Orthotrichum diaphanum

I am an amateur naturalist trying to learn something about everything living in my garden.

Photo 1 shows another of my garden-wall-top's community of mosses. For this photo I was fortunate to be able to borrow a fancy digital camera. I'm most impressed with the close-up ability, as compared with the results from my own humble little 'point and click' camera, normally responsible for the snaps on this site. The Walloon bank balance may need to take a hit at some point!

Photo 2 (click to enlarge) shows a 40x magnified view of a single leaf. Distinguishing features are the circular leaf cells, the central vein that fades out just before the end of the leaf and the 'recurving' (folding over) of the leaf edge. Another obvious feature is the long, white 'hyaline' (=clear) hair at the end of the leaf. Quite a number of mosses sport such hairs (see my previous postings on S.intermedia, G.pulvinata and T.muralis for example). A pure guess on my part is that these hairs act as condensation sites for droplets of dew, thereby helping the moss to collect water. I've no evidence for this however. Can anyone comment? Anyway, regardless of their purpose, these features taken all together identify my moss as Orthotrichum diaphanum in my trusty copy of British Mosses and Liverworts (Watson, Cambridge).

For those of you unfamiliar with the art of moss identification (which included me when I began this blog a year ago ) clicking on 'moss' under the 'labels' menu on the left this screen and scrolling down, you'll easily be able to compare the leaf shapes of the different species I've blogged so far. You'll see that far from being all the same, different species of moss really do have their own individual and characteristic leaf features (some short and fat; others long and thin; some with hairs; some without etc.) - a strong aid to their identification.

O. diaphanum is a fairly common moss. According to my copy of The Moss Flora of Britain and Ireland (Smith, Cambridge) "[it] has been found on such unlikely materials as old linoleum, corrugated iron and tarmac". It is most common on trees and wooden fences.

Another feature obvious in photo 1 are my moss's brown setea (fruit stalks and capsules). The site of the Bryophytes and Buildings project - cataloging mosses in Edinburgh, Scotland - has some superb closeup photo's of the capsules and the 'peristome teeth' that are revealed when a capsule loses its lid. Experts use the shape and number of peristome teeth as another aid to species identification. I've read (though I can't remember where) that a moss's peristome teeth act as little mechanical devices, bending and flexing in response to passing air currents and changes in humidity and actually 'reaching inside' the capsule, 'scooping up' the spores therein, and flicking them out, away from the moss. Another of nature's tiny miracles!

Soft-tufted Beard Moss Didymodon (Barbula) vinealis

I am an amateur naturalist trying to identify all the lifeforms in my garden.

Growing on a stone next to my vegetable patch (at (0.2,1.6) - see here) is the moss seen in photo 1 (click photo's to enlarge).

For this posting I was fortunate enough to gain access to a low power stereo dissecting microscope. My usual technique of balancing my cheap digital camera on the eyepiece didn't deliver such good results as it does with my own higher-power microscope, but the stereo' did allow me to capture some photo's at 16x magnification of the moss in its wet state (photo 2) and (photo 3) the remarkable 'twisted-rope' structure the leaves adopt if the moss is left to dry out. Mosses are able to withstand considerable drying incidentally, all that's needed to bring them back to full greeness being a few drops of water.

Previously, I've talked at length (here, here and here) about some of the features to look for when identifying mosses. For this posting, suffice to say that the combination of elongated leaves with their circular cells and nerve running their full length, together with a few other features and reference to my copy of British Mosses and Liverworts (Watson, Cambridge) and a recently acquired copy of The Moss Flora of Britain and Ireland (Smith, Cambridge), leads me to conclude I've got Didymodon (Barbula) vinealis growing in my garden (though as always, my identifications come with a 'health warning' - I'm always happy to be corrected). The website of the British Bryological Society gives the common name as Soft-tufted Beard Moss.

Though I realise the following will be decidedly 'old news' to the experts out there, I can't end today's posting without relaying a fascinating feature of mosses that I discovered recently from leafing through some botany textbooks. As most people know, DNA inside living cells gets packaged up into chromosomes. Human cells contain 2 sets of 23 chromosomes (i.e. 46 in all) and are said to be diploid. The exceptions are sperm and eggs; These contain only 1 set of (23) chromosomes and are said to be haploid. This pattern is common across almost all mammals. Mosses do things differently however; When you look at a moss you are seeing a mass of haploid cells, except, however, where you see stalk-like setae (you can see a number in photo 1. Photo 4 shows a closeup). These are the a moss's spore-filled fruits. In contrast to the rest of the moss, the cells comprising the setae are diploid. In a sense therefore, your or my diploid arms 'sprouting' from our diploid torsos, are a genetically 'closer match', than a moss's diploid setae sprouting from its haploid host.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosphy!

Intermediate screw moss Syntrichia (syn. Tortula) intermedia

I am an amateur naturalist trying to learn something about everything living in my garden.

Photo 1 (click to enlarge) shows a patch of moss growing on top of a large stone in my garden, closeby my kitchen door (at (0.9,1.5) - see here).

In fact there are a number of mosses present in photo 1. Though I've not taken the time to examine it in detail, from its appearance I believe the flat feathery one below the coin in the centre of photo 1 to be our old friend Silky Wall Feather moss (Bracythecium rutablum).

The moss that's the focus of today's posting however is that directly left of the coin with leaves arranged in little 'rosettes'.

Photo 2 shows a close up (100x magnification, 1 small graticule division = 10um) of one of the leaves. Things to notice include the tiny spines on the translucent hair emerging from the end of the leaf; the rounded leaf end; the fact that towards the mid-point along its length, the leaf narrows a little and simultaneously 'recurves' (folds over at the edge). Another microscopic feature, most easily seen in the 400x image of photo 3, are the circular cells in the mid leaf, becoming oblong at the edges. Finally, a feature of my moss shown in photo 4 (I've 'tweaked' the colour and contrast on this photo to show things up a little better) are its brown, cylindrical setae (spore capsules). Taken all together, and referring to my battered copy of British Mosses and Liverworts (E.V.Watson, Cambridge Univ. Press 1955), everything points to my moss being Tortula intermedia (Intermediate Wall Screw moss). The site of the British Bryological society has a lovely close-up photo under the alternative name Syntrichia intermedia.

Ubiquitous and persisting through the winter, mosses are inherently 'good value' for the amateur nature lover (a remark I've made previously and heard reiterated on a radio documentary I enjoyed listening to recently via the BBC website). My blog has been my introduction to the mosses and I've thoroughly enjoyed discovering that life forms I'd previously regarded as 'undifferentiated lumps of green stuff' possess, in fact, a minute individuality and beauty all of their own. This is my second Tortula moss but once you've accustomed yourself to notice the difference there's no mistaking the green rosettes of our moss above from the the frosty-white pincushions of Tortula muralis I photographed a year ago. Hooray for the beautiful bryophytes!

Silky wall and Rough stalked feather moss

I am attempting to identify all the life in my garden. In this posting I am continuing to work my way through my garden's moss species. As I've mentioned previously I'm an amatuer with no formal training in botany or biology. All my "identifications" (a.k.a. best guesses) come with this caveat!

Photo 1 shows a patch of moss I found growing on my lawn at (1.1,0.3) (see the Lie of the Land posting). I'm mildly curious to know how fast moss grows and spreads so I've measured the size of this patch - 9cm x 9cm at the widest point - with the aim of returning to look at it again in a years time (watch this space!). Photo 2 shows a microscope photo of one of the leaves.

Armed with my trusty copy of British Mosses and Liverworts (Watson, Cambridge Uni. Press 1955) I think I've identified it as Brachythecium rutabulum (Rough stalked feather moss). Watson describes it as 'almost ubiquitous in lowland districts' 'often found on lawns' and 'amongst the first mosses which the beginner will come to know'; So it seems a useful one to have identified!

Meanwhile, growing on the trunk of my apple tree (1.5,1.1) (of which, more in a future posting) is the moss in photo 3. The leaves of this one (shown in photo 4) are distinctly narrow, 'creased' with folds, and have tiny 'teeth' along the edges being most pronounced at the base of the leaf. My identification for this one is Camptothecium sericeum (Silky wall feather moss) which seems to have be renamed since Watson's book was published in the 1950's as Homalothecium sericeum.

I have frequently read that mosses are 'non vascular' plants i.e. that they lack a dedicated 'plumbing' system for transporting water and nutrients around. Given this explanation, what puzzles me (comments please!) is how in that case they do manage to transport nutrients around. Are moss leaves constrained to be as small as they are by this lack of a vascular system?

Wall Screw Moss and Grimmia pulvinata

I am attempting to identify all the life in my garden. In recent postings I have investigated a few of my garden's common birds and a common weed. It is time to take on a more ambitious identification challenge: moss.

I have not hitherto taken much notice of moss! I have to say however, that having begun to look for it, it does have a certain appeal for the amateur naturalist. Firstly, a lot of it is really rather beautiful once you begin to examine it closely, and secondly you can be pretty much guaranteed to find some to study any time you go outdoors at any time of year (c.f. say, wildflowers, butterflies etc.).

Common on my garden wall (around (1.8,1.0 see The Lie of the Land) see are the small moss 'cushions' seen in the photo 1. Following some head scratching (see below) I think I'm confident in stating that there are two distinct species of moss at work here.

Photo 2 shows things more clearly. The left hand moss clearly has elongated thin spore capsules on upright stalks ('setae'). Clicking on photo 2 to enlarge it and looking carefully you'll see the right hand moss is also 'fruiting', but its setae curl back on themselves to 'bury' the spore capsules amongst the leaves. After many hours work I'm reasonably confident in identifying the left as Wall Screw Moss (Tortula muralis) and the right as Grimmia pulvinata (for which I can't find a common name - comments anyone?).


The obvious challenge in identifying a moss is the small size of any distinguishing features. Recently however I purchased a 'Westbury SP30' student microscope from Brunel Microscopes (for anyone looking to do similar, I'd recommend the company - extremely helpful on the phone and they delivered the 'scope in 48hrs).

It turns out that moss leaves make inherently 'good viewing' under the microscope since in most cases the leaf consists of simply a monolayer of cells. Putting a moss leaf under the microscope, you immediately get a view of living cells without any of the 'messing about' with microtomes and stains I believe is often required with other 'higher' plants. Photo 3 shows the fairly regular cells of G. pulvinata (100x; 1 small graticule division = 10um) and photo 4 of T. muralis (450x; 1 small div. =2.5microns) - which remind me of miniature four leaf clovers.

The most striking thing about both the leaves of G. pulvinata (photo 5) and T. muralis (photo 6) under low magnification (100x, 1small div.=10um) are the inordinately long white hairs at the end of the leaf. These hairs give the 'cushions' their silvery look in photo 1 above. With regard to telling the leaves apart, photo 6 shows that the more rounded ('ovate') leaf ending of T. muralis. A second differentiating feature of G. pulvinata are the tiny spines protruding from the leaf hairs (photo 7, 400x) (the leaf hairs of T. muralis are smooth).

To identify my mosses I used the key in British Mosses and Liverworts, E.V. Watson (Cambridge Univ. Press). Helpfully, Andrew Spink has reproduced this key on his website. The images of T. muralis in the British Bryological Society Field Guide were also useful. (I couldn't find G. pulvinata there - does it have another name?). I took the microscopic photos by simply holding the lens of my camera up to the eye piece of my microscope (hence the reason they're not very good!).

Finally - as an illustration of how small the world is (or how big the internet depending on your point of view) - I discovered in the course of my searching that Patrick Roper has also been busy this month blogging about T. muralis. Great minds think alike..?