The tricky mosses

[Alan K.]

I have a somewhat obsessive interest in finding and identifying mosses. They are everywhere around us: on brickwork, doorsteps, roofs and trees... But what are they?

The best site for identifying British Mosses is I think

https://cisfbr.org.uk/

You will need to click on the bryophyte link at the bottom left of the homepage.
I would love to hear from anyone else with a love for these tiny plants.

 

[Zigs]

That's an interesting site Alan

I quite like mosses too. I was amazed to find out they've got free swimming sperm

 

[Zigs]

Found this one on a brick

 

[Alan K.]

Found this one on a brick

View attachment 3323

Looks like Tortula muralis..

 

[Alan K.]

That's an interesting site Alan

I quite like mosses too. I was amazed to find out they've got free swimming sperm

They are pretty advanced complex organism!

 

[Alan K.]

Looks like Tortula muralis..

This has to be one of my favourites, Orthotrichum anomalum...to be found on most walls!

 

[Tetters]

It is really great to have an expert on our forum - especially on mosses and ferns as well as all those wildflowers that we find. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more about this subject. There is so much in nature to explore and not enough teachers to help.
Names also fascinate me, and that fern you have named as Tortula muralis, would have suggested to me a curly or mis-formed moss by that name - as in tortuosa for example. used to describe twisted tree branches like Salix tortuosa. I wanted to learn Latin at school but didn't have the opportunity. Working in horticulture for several years helped a bit.

 

[Alan K.]

It is really great to have an expert on our forum - especially on mosses and ferns as well as all those wildflowers that we find. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more about this subject. There is so much in nature to explore and not enough teachers to help.
Names also fascinate me, and that fern you have named as Tortula muralis, would have suggested to me a curly or mis-formed moss by that name - as in tortuosa for example. used to describe twisted tree branches like Salix tortuosa. I wanted to learn Latin at school but didn't have the opportunity. Working in horticulture for several years helped a bit.

Thanks for your welcome! Tortula is a moss. Its common name is Wall Screw Moss because the leaves twist into a corkscrew shape when dry.
Other mosses do this as well and most belong to the genus Syntrichia. More on those later..

 

[Anniekay]

Thanks for your welcome! Tortula is a moss. Its common name is Wall Screw Moss because the leaves twist into a corkscrew shape when dry.
Other mosses do this as well and most belong to the genus Syntrichia. More on those later..

Oh, now this is really helpful !!

Next time someone really gets to the point of thoroughly annoying me, I am going to say, (With a smile) : "Yes, now, Tortula you !!"

 

[Zigs]

Looks like Tortula muralis..

I had a feeling you'd know

 

[Tetters]

Thanks for your welcome! Tortula is a moss. Its common name is Wall Screw Moss because the leaves twist into a corkscrew shape when dry.
Other mosses do this as well and most belong to the genus Syntrichia. More on those later..

@AlanK you just made my day, so Tortula was a good clue for the moss after all, maybe I'm not quite as daft as I thought I was.
When I worked in the propagation house at the nursery, the boss used to be amazed with my appreciation for all plants twisted and gnarled. Do you happen to know if there is a fern that grows this way?

 

[Anniekay]

Asplenium nidus 'Crispy Wave' - 5" pot, Bird’s Nest Fern, Fern, Live plant​

I used to have one of these back in the 70's when houseplants were very popular.

 

[Alan K.]

@AlanK you just made my day, so Tortula was a good clue for the moss after all, maybe I'm not quite as daft as I thought I was.
When I worked in the propagation house at the nursery, the boss used to be amazed with my appreciation for all plants twisted and gnarled. Do you happen to know if there is a fern that grows this way?

Desert ferns grow like this but I'm not sure there are any in cultivation. Selaginella is another plant that curls up and goes brown when dry.

 

[Alan K.]

These tiny mosses look just like daisies: Orthotrichum diaphanum and Schistidium crassipilum. Of course you need a magnifying glass to appreciate them...can be found on sandstone walls.

 

[Zigs]

Very nice Alan

Tetters found this one today while she was weeding

 

[Alan K.]

Very nice Alan

Tetters found this one today while she was weeding

View attachment 3339

These scraggly ground mosses can be hard to ID but my best guess is Kindbergia praelonga, a very common moss in Britain.

 

[Tetters]

These scraggly ground mosses can be hard to ID but my best guess is Kindbergia praelonga, a very common moss in Britain.

That's not what I call this one my polite name is ''grass destroyer'' -the other names are all in foreign capital letters with rude words included.
The Asplenium is great. Is it a hardy fern to grow outside in a shady place?
I used to have a contorted willow with twisted branches, and another with straight branches and curly leaves, but my memory fails me when I try and remember the names of those.

 

[Anniekay]

That's not what I call this one my polite name is ''grass destroyer'' -the other names are all in foreign capital letters with rude words included.
The Asplenium is great. Is it a hardy fern to grow outside in a shady place?
I used to have a contorted willow with twisted branches, and another with straight branches and curly leaves, but my memory fails me when I try and remember the names of those.

@Tetters, the Asplenium is a houseplant, but it is curvy !!

 

[Tetters]

@Tetters, the Asplenium is a houseplant, but it is curvy !!

Oh sod it, I promised myself not to grow houseplants again - I usually lose those. They don't like this house unless they're made of plastic