Where?

Welcome to part 3 of my 6 part series, Better Know Your Mosses!

This month's episode:

Where can you find mosses?

Well, yes, of course they are generally found is dark, moist areas. But there's more to a preferable mossy habitat than being shady and wet...

Mosses have adapted to be able to live in otherwise stressful areas, i.e., places that vascular plant cannot survive: where water availability fluctuates, where it is extremely windy (increases transpiration in vascular plants), or even where it is too hot and dry.

Basically, when it comes to competition, vascular plants win every time, there's no contest against these diminutive plants. Bryophytes have learned to colonize those niches that vascular plants cannot - so no, mosses are not taking over your lawn and killing your grass, that is just not possible, they are merely taking advantage of the areas where your grass doesn't want to grow (too shady, too acidic, etc.)

Really you can find species in a wide variety is habitats from completely submerged (Calliergonella cuspidata, Sphagnum spp.) to exposed rock faces (Andreaeobryum spp., Grimmia spp.) and everywhere in between. They have the ability to inhabit impermeable surfaces. Since they have no roots, they can live on tree trunks/branches, rocks, walls, etc.


Sphagnum species
Grimmia decipiens
Mosses are incredibly widespread. They can be found on all 7 continents. one species, Polytrichum juniperinum can actually be found on every continent - that same moss growing in your back yard can also be found living in Antarctica - how amazing is that??

That concludes my rambling on the "where" of mosses...next up, find out "how" mosses live like they do!