Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophytasensu stricto. Bryophyta may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hornworts. Mosses typically form dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilisation develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores. They are typically 0.2–10 cm (0.1–3.9 in) tall, though some species are much larger. Dawsonia, the tallest moss in the world, can grow to 50 cm (20 in) in height. There are approximately 12,000 species.
Fissidens adianthoides, the maidenhair pocketmoss, is a moss in the family Fissidentaceae. It was first collected by Hedwig in 1801.
Riccia is a genus of liverworts in the order Marchantiales.
Taxiphyllum barbieri, known as Java moss or Bogor moss, is a moss belonging to the family Hypnaceae. Native to southeast Asia, it is commonly used in freshwater aquariums. It attaches to rocks, roots, and driftwood. In the wild, it grows in humid riparian areas.
Polytrichum commune is a species of moss found in many regions with high humidity and rainfall. The species can be exceptionally tall for a moss with stems often exceeding 30 cm (12 in) though rarely reaching 70 cm (27.5 in), but it is most commonly found at shorter lengths of 5 to 10 cm. It is widely distributed throughout temperate and boreal latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere and also found in Mexico, several Pacific Islands including New Zealand, and also in Australia. It typically grows in bogs, wet heathland and along forest streams.
Hemigrammus erythrozonus, commonly known as the glowlight tetra, is a small tropical fish from the Essequibo River, Guyana, South America. It is silver in colour and a bright iridescent orange to red stripe extends from the snout to the base of its tail, the front of the dorsal fin being the same color as the stripe. Other fins are silver to transparent. The glowlight tetra is a peaceful, shoaling fish. It is larger than the neon tetra, and its peaceful disposition makes it an ideal, and popular, community tank fish. It should be kept with similar sized, non-aggressive species. Hemigrammus gracilis is a senior synonym. The red-line rasbora of Malaysia and Indonesia has markings and coloring very similar to H. erythrozonus, but is a member of family Cyprinidae, not a close relative.
Azolla cristata , the Carolina mosquitofern, Carolina azolla or water velvet, is a species of Azolla native to the Americas, in eastern North America from southern Ontario southward, and from the east coast west to Wisconsin and Texas, and in the Caribbean, and in Central and South America from southeastern Mexico (Chiapas) south to northern Argentina and Uruguay.
The rainbow shark is a species of Southeast Asian freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae. It is also known as the ruby shark, red-fin shark, red-finned shark, rainbow sharkminnow, green fringelip labeo, whitefin shark and whitetail sharkminnow. It is a popular, semi-aggressive aquarium fish. Unlike true sharks, which belong to the Chondrichthyes lineage, the rainbow shark is an actinopterygiian.
Ceratodon purpureus is a dioicous moss with a color ranging from yellow-green to red. The height amounts to 3 centimeters. It is found worldwide, mainly in urban areas and next to roads on dry sand soils. It can grow in a very wide variety of habitats, from polluted highway shoulders and mine tailings to areas recently denuded by wildfire to the bright slopes of Antarctica. Its common names include redshank, purple forkmoss, ceratodon moss, fire moss, and purple horn toothed moss.
Pellia epiphylla is a species of thallose liverwort. It occurs in North America, Europe, North Africa and parts of Asia. It grows in patches in damp, sheltered places on neutral or acidic substrates. It is common on the banks of rivers, streams and ditches and also grows in wet woodland, marshes and on wet rocks.
Sphagnum palustre, the prairie sphagnum or blunt-leaved bogmoss, is a species of peat moss from the genus Sphagnum, in the family Sphagnaceae. Like other mosses of this type it can soak up water up to the 30-fold amount of its own dry weight thanks to its elastic spiral fibers. S. palustre is rather frequent and is spread almost all over the world. It mainly grows in wet forests and—compared to other specimens of this genus—rarely grows in moors.
Dicranum scoparium, the broom forkmoss, is a species of dicranid moss, native to most of the northern hemisphere as well as Oceania. It usually forms tufts or mats on soil in dry to moist forested areas. As with many types of moss Broom moss grows in clumps with Broom mosses as well as other mosses. It can be distinguished by its leaves, which strongly curve to one side.
Polytrichum juniperinum, commonly known as juniper haircap or juniper polytrichum moss, is an evergreen and perennial species of moss that is widely distributed, growing on every continent including Antarctica.
Splachnum sphaericum, also known as pinkstink dung moss, is a species of moss. This species occurs in North America. It also occurs in upland Britain, where it is known as round-fruited collar-moss and in north temperate and boreal regions of Europe. Its habitat is bog and wet heathland where it grows on herbivore dung. This and other Splachnum species are entomophilous. The sporophytes, which are generally coloured red or black, produce an odour of carrion that is attractive to flies and the spores are dispersed by flies to fresh dung.
Calliergon cordifolium is a species of moss in the Calliergonaceae family, commonly known as the calliergon moss or heart-leaved spearmoss. The species is abundant in the right habitat, and grows in marshes and wet woodland, especially woodland of alder (Alnus) or willow (Salix), as well as around streams, ditches and pools. The species grows in tufts among other moss species. Calliergon cordifolium requires a wet environment to grow, and often grows completely submerged in water. It typically prefers lowland, but has been recorded as high as 910 metres (1,000 yd) above sea level in Inverness, Scotland. The species has a circumpolar Boreo-temperate distribution. It is found throughout Europe. It has been recorded in north and central Asia, as well as Turkey and Japan, throughout North America and in New Zealand.
Tetraphis pellucida, the pellucid four-tooth moss, is one of two species of moss in the acrocarpous genus Tetraphis. Its name refers to its four large peristome teeth found on the sporophyte capsule.
Racomitrium lanuginosum is a widespread species of moss found in montane and arctic tundra, the genus Racomitrium is found across the Northern and Southern hemispheres., however Racomitrium lanuginosum is only found in the Northern hemisphere. It grows as large mats on exposed rock and in boulder scree, particularly on acidic rocks. Its leaves have a characteristically decurrent and toothed hair-point, which gives rise to its regional common names woolly fringemoss, hoary rock-moss and woolly moss.
Sphagnum cuspidatum, the feathery bogmoss, toothed sphagnum, or toothed peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, the eastern coast of the United States, and in Colombia.
Pogonatum urnigerum is a species of moss in the family Polytrichaceae, commonly called urn haircap. The name comes from "urna" meaning "urn" and "gerere" meaning "to bear" which is believed to be a reference made towards the plant's wide-mouthed capsule. It can be found on gravelly banks or similar habitats and can be identified by the blue tinge to the overall green colour. The stem of this moss is wine red and it has rhizoids that keep the moss anchored to substrates. It is an acrocarpous moss that grows vertically with an archegonium borne at the top of each fertilized female gametophyte shoot which develops an erect sporophyte.
Polytrichastrum formosum, commonly known as the bank haircap moss, is a species of moss belonging to the family Polytrichaceae.
