CHAPTER XXV 



MOSSES AND THEIE ALLIES 



255. General Features. — The plants in this group have 

 more parts, stems, leaves, etc., than the fungi and algse 

 have ; the chlorophyll is evenly distributed, and they tend 

 to grow erect. The life history of the mosses is more 

 complex than that of the simple algae (Figure 390). 



If a cushion of moss is examined, it is found to be made 

 up of small plants packed closely together. At certain 



times of the year some 

 of these plants have a 

 stiff, wiry, brownish 

 stalk, surmounted by a 

 boxlike capsule, on top 

 of which may be a shaggy 

 cap or cover (Figures 

 389 and 390). 



256. Habitat. — Mosses 

 grow in moist places, for 

 their rootlike rhizoids are not sufficiently developed to 

 gather water from the soil. They thrive best in shady 

 woods, on decaying logs, and on stones wet by spray. 

 Another reason for their need of moisture will appear in 

 the study of their reproduction. 



257. Life History. — If a dry moss capsule is shaken, 

 powdery spores, much like the " smoke " from a puffball, 

 float off in the air. When these spores fall on moist 

 ground, each sends out a mass of very small, alga-like 



364 



Figure 389. — Types of Mosses. 



