Here in the Pacific Northwest (and specifically west of the Cascade Mountains), moss is everywhere. Everywhere. Lawns, roofs, trees (like my walnut tree shown in the photo above), rocks, streets…the list is endless. Why? Because it is very wet here and moss needs lots of moisture to live. Unlike many other types of plants, moss does not have efficient tubes inside to help move food and water throughout the plant. So, it needs to live in an environment where water is plentiful.
Moss looks very green from a distance. How about up close?
This is a different patch of moss than the one shown on my walnut tree above, but the idea is the same. See the red stalks? According to Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon, these are called sporophytes and the red capsules contain spores. When they open the spores float away to a new location where, if it is wet, they might grow into a new patch of moss.
Do you have moss in your yard? If so, take a closer look- it might be more interesting looking than it seems.
I love moss and moss close-ups!
Your shots are beautiful
And no, no moss in Kuwait as far as I can tell
Looks good enough to eat!
That’s a great close-up of the moss. Thanks for the information!
Excellent macro of the moss and its sporophytes. Looks very much like the moss on the walnut in our yard. The Ozarks aren’t nearly as wet as the Pacific Northwest, but evidently we’re wet enough for moss.
[...] And Mark on the Pacific West Coast has a nice post on moss. [...]