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.
Sphagnum is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss. Accumulations of Sphagnum can store water, since both living and dead plants can hold large quantities of water inside their cells; plants may hold 16 to 26 times as much water as their dry weight, depending on the species. The empty cells help retain water in drier conditions.
A de novo mutation (DNM) is any mutation or alteration in the genome of an individual organism that was not inherited from its parents. This type of mutation spontaneously occurs during the process of DNA replication during cell division. De novo mutations, by definition, are present in the affected individual but absent from both biological parents' genomes. These mutations can occur in any cell of the offspring, but those in the germ line can be passed on to the next generation.
Nepenthes masoalensis is one of two tropical pitcher plant species from Madagascar, the other being N. madagascariensis.
The Canal de São Vicente is a strait of the Atlantic Ocean separating the islands of Santo Antão and São Vicente, Cape Verde. At its narrowest point, it is 11 km (7 mi) wide. The ferry route between the ports of Porto Novo on Santo Antão and Mindelo on São Vicente crosses the canal. The channel begins in São Vicente's northwesternmost cape near Monte Cara up to the headland Ponta de João d'Évora in the northeast.
Shaw's jird is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia. Its natural habitats are arable land, pastureland, and rural gardens.
Podocarpus novae-caledoniae is a species of conifer in the family Podocarpaceae. It is found only in Grande Terre and the Île des Pins, New Caledonia.
The sphagnum frog is a frog in the family Limnodynastidae. The species was first described by John Alexander Moore in 1958. Its natural habitats are subtropical moist upland forests, subtropical moist montane forests, and streams. They vary in colour from shades of yellow and orange. They usually have irregular black spots that range all over their body. Their main source of diet comes from small insects, usually ants. This species has been classified as endangered in 2004. It is threatened by climate change pathogens and habitat loss. It is endemic to Australia. There have been other recommendations by scientist and other groups made to protect this species. Some of these recommendations are exclude logging around breeding areas, prevent pollution of streams and wetlands, and maintain vegetation and deep-leaf litter around streams.
Phanogomphus diminutus, the diminutive clubtail, is a species of clubtail dragonfly in the family Gomphidae. It is endemic to the southeastern United States. Its natural habitats are boggy trickles and slow, small streams and lakes, all with part sand, part silt bottoms, and Sphagnum moss margins.
Ambuchanania leucobryoides is the only species in the monotypic genus Ambuchanania. It is a Sphagnum-like moss endemic to Tasmania. Originally described as a species of Sphagnum, it is now a separate genus named after the original collector Alex M. Buchanan, (b.1944) an Australian botanist from the Tasmanian Herbarium in Hobart,. A. leucobryoides differs from the family Sphagnaceae in having elongate antheridia. It is entirely restricted to south-west Tasmania's Wilderness World Heritage Area where it occurs on white Precambrian quartzitic sand deposited by alluvial flows, and on margins of buttongrass sedge land. Species most commonly found in association with A. leucobryoides include: Leptocarpus tenax, Chordifex hookeri, and Actinotus suffocatus. Currently, A. leucobryoides is listed as rare under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.
The white-faced darter or small whiteface is a dragonfly belonging to the genus Leucorrhinia in the family Libellulidae, characterised by red and black markings and a distinctive white patch on the head. It is found in wetlands and peat bogs from northern Europe eastwards to Siberia, and the adults are active from around April till September, which is known as the "flight period". It breeds in acidic bodies of water, laying its eggs in clumps of sphagnum moss that provide a safe habitat for larval development. The larvae are particularly vulnerable to predation by fish, and so are usually found in lakes where fish are not present. L. dubia is listed as a species of least concern (LC) by the IUCN Red List, however, it is potentially threatened by habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change.
Worsleya is a genus of Brazilian plants in the amaryllis family Amaryllidaceae, cultivated as an ornamental because of its showy flowers. There is only one known species, Worsleya procera, native to eastern Brazil. It is endemic to the marshy top of a mesa called "Mount Cuca" 30 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. Here the sickle-shaped leaves curve northward. When grown in the northern hemisphere, the leaves curve southward. It is one of the largest and also rarest members of the subfamily Amaryllidoideae. It is the largest flower bulb in the world.
Armillaria ectypa is a species of mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae. Commonly known as the marsh honey fungus, it prefers growing in sphagnum bogs with mosses. It is classified as endangered in Great Britain, and is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; it is also on the provisional European red data list. A. ectypa has been observed to have both bioluminescent mycelium and fruitbodies.
Mount Oku, or Kilum Mountain, is the largest volcano in the Oku Massif, in the Cameroon Volcanic Line, located in the Oku region of the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. It is the second highest mountain in mainland Central Africa. The stratovolcano rises to 3,011 metres (9,879 ft) above sea level, and is cut by a large caldera.
Flatbergium is a genus of moss with 2 accepted species. Flatbergium sericeum and Flatbergium novo-caledoniae, originally described as species of Sphagnum, are now considered part of a separate genus on the basis of genetic differences. The Ordovician fossil Dollyphyton has also been assigned to this family.
Eosphagnum inretortum is a species of moss, and the only species of the genus Eosphagnum. Originally described as a species of Sphagnum, it is now a separate genus on the basis of morphological and genetic differences.
Austropetalia tonyana is a species of dragonfly of the family Austropetaliidae, commonly known as the alpine redspot. It is endemic to mountain areas of Victoria and New South Wales, Australia, where it inhabits trickles, sphagnum moss swamps and waterfall splash zones. It is a medium-sized dragonfly with brown and yellow markings.
Sphagnum papillosum, the papillose peatmoss, is a species of peat moss distributed throughout the northern hemisphere. Although sometimes confused with Sphagnum imbricatum and Sphagnum palustre, it is distinguished by its yellow-green to brown short, blunt branches and papillose chlorophyllose cells.
Sphagnum subsecundum, the slender cow-horn bog-moss, is a species of moss in the family Sphagnaceae. It is the namesake of a species complex. The complex has a nearly worldwide distribution in wetlands, with the species proper found in Europe, eastern North America and North Africa.
