Marvelous mosses
The first day of real lockdown, 24 March – time to get into the sunshine and re-pot the plants on our little roof terrace. I start by removing the turf of moss that has accumulated on a pot of lily of the valley. I put the turf to one side, then look again – it contains several different mosses and a liverwort. I’m nearing the end of a distance-learning course on bryophyte identification, so I separate the various species and settle down with my field guide and microscope. Some I am familiar with, others are new to me. One has a transparent calyptra, like a bride’s veil, covering its still-forming capsules. Even the liverwort, a pest in plant nurseries, has delicate teeth on the cups containing its gemmae.
For most of my life, I have overlooked mosses, enjoying their green lushness in winter but otherwise not giving them a second thought. Yet hundreds of species grow in Britain and they are so varied in their appearance and structure, especially when seen through a hand lens or under a microscope. How I wish I had started studying them when I was younger and had better eyesight.
That one flowerpot was home to seven different species of moss. Take a closer look – they are beautiful and they are all around you!
Tamsin Candeland, via email