Okay, so it's a moss.
It's still blooming, isn't it?
And here's a different species of moss blooming. At least, I think it's a different species.
I thought I was going to get into identifying some of the mosses I've photographed, so Mr. Google and I started prowling around the Net. One of the first things I found was on the Mosses page of Backyard Nature. It advised:
I thought I was going to get into identifying some of the mosses I've photographed, so Mr. Google and I started prowling around the Net. One of the first things I found was on the Mosses page of Backyard Nature. It advised:
When identifying mosses you almost always need mature capsules, for details of stalk and capsule structure vary endlessly and are important in moss identification. A capsule's minute peristome, annulus, operculum, and calyptra vary as markedly from species to species as do flower parts from one flowering species to another. The shape and arrangement of individual cells in moss leaves are also important in moss identification.
Since all these features are minuscule, here is one inescapable fact about the process of learning your neighborhood mosses:
- To identify mosses, you nearly always need a hand lens, and very often a microscope.
- Methinks I will enjoy the colors and textures of mosses and leave the identification to others.
