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Botany Photo of the Day
In science, beauty. In beauty, science. Daily.

Unidentified Moss

Unidentified Moss

Conduction of water in bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and hornworts) is broadly classified in three ways: ectohydric, mixohydric and endohydric.

Ectohydric bryophytes lack any form of specialized cells for internal conduction. Instead, water is conducted externally, typically through capillary action. Reliance upon external conduction, I'm certain, is correlated with height of these organisms – they tend to be the shortest of the bryophytes.

Today's photograph of an unidentified bryid moss is an example of a mixohydric bryophyte. While some water is conducted externally, these organisms have a measure of internal cell specialization, such as hydroids or stereids, that give them the ability to move water and nutrients within its tissues. It is not bona fide conducting tissue, i.e., it does not form an interconnected system throughout the entire body of the plant (including leaves or entire length of the stem), but it does represent a rudimentary way to transport water internally and decrease reliance on external moisture for growth and reproduction.

The third grouping, endohydric bryophytes, is represented by this BPotD on Polytrichum juniperinum. In these plants, an internal conducting system exists that is analogous to the conducting system of vascular plants. By no coincidence (as is mentioned in the Polytrichum link), this grouping contains the tallest of bryophytes reaching over a half metre in height.

In all three broad groupings, it is important to note that water uptake tends to be from atmospheric moisture (suggested in today's photo) absorbed via the leaf or stem cells as opposed to uptake in moisture from the substrate (compare with vascular plants, which often uptake moisture via roots in soil). For both ectohydric and mixohydric bryophytes in particular, this means that water is absorbed near the top of organism and passed downward to subtending tissues, the inverse of the way one typically thinks about water uptake in plants.

Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photomicrography of Hans Van Rafelghem.

18 Comments

Douglas Justice commented:

Daniel,

Wow! That is one very cool shot.

As a lover of scientifically precise terms, I really appreciate being able to add those little ecto-, mixo- and endo-morsels to my botanical lexicon. It's rare to find technical writing (particularly in a blog) that is this entertaining and refreshingly succinct--to say nothing of the consistently excellent photography. Bravo! (and keep it up).

Eric in SF commented:

Absolutely spectacular shot. Is it cropped from the original?

I took a similiar shot in my neighborhood last year:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericinsf/83856600/

Daniel Mosquin commented:

Thanks both of you. No, this is full frame.

reino carlson commented:

beautiful.

Patricia commented:

I am your most grateful student. I learn so much from your explanations and photos.

michael Martinez commented:

Great Photography

bev commented:

ditto Douglas and Patricia; I couldn't express it better.

Meg Bernstein commented:

I agree with Douglas. I love mosses but didn't know there were so many water delivery adaptations. I like the vocabulary too.

Meg

deb lievens commented:

A "to-die-for" picture. And info I've never come across before. Thank you, thank you (again)for an inspiring web site.

Cyndy Henderson commented:

Crystal clear, love it!

Gabriella commented:

Absolutely spectacular shot, thanks Daniel,

Gabriella

van commented:

Fascinating. I didn't know all this either. Great photo.

Martin LaBar commented:

Splendid photo of the moss, and very interesting information. Thanks!

Hans Van Rafelghem commented:

Thanks for putting my link in your article.

Sean M. commented:

This looks like it could be a Ribbed Bog Moss (Aulacomnium palustre). Forestry Student at Fleming College, Lindsay, ON, Canada

Mary Ann, in Toronto commented:

Just surfing back to this page from 2.5 years in the future...

I just love both the moss itself, and the photo. Thank you, Sean M., for the suggested name and also for drawing me back here.

That's a great photography link at the end of the write-up --- more photos by Hans Van Rafelghem, really fabulous pictures. Check out this beautiful one of Veronica agrestis --- http://www.pbase.com/hvr_oosterzele/image/59719187
--- he captures the glitter on the petals, which is not so easy to do.

Mary Ann, in Toronto commented:

Just to correct my mistaken assumption... the moss photo was taken by Daniel (not Hans).
Gorgeous!

Phyllis Moore commented:

Dear Sirs, I have written and illustrated an adventure storybook set in a fantasy land of mosses, lichens and fungi for my grand daughter. However, my book has come out better than I thought it would and I now wish to try to get it published. In some of my illustrations I have incorporated the above picture of the water on the moss, and I would very much like your permission to use it. If you contact my email I will forward to you the relevant picture. I will be posting a list of credits in the book for photos used. I hope to hear from you soon, Yours faithfully, Phyllis Moore

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