HOW TO KNOW THE MOSSES 



INTRODUCTION 



If it were not for the mosses, it is difficult to say how 

 barren the woods would be or how much beauty would 

 be lost to nature. Wherever mosses occur there is an 

 added bit of color. The eye is attracted by the green, 

 velvety clumps of the upright plants, the delicate 

 texture of the prostrate ones, or by the brighter color 

 of the slender fruit-stalks. 



Mosses are relatively small plants, but they often 

 form a conspicuous part of the vegetation, owing to the 

 extensive branching and the prolonged growth of the 

 stems and their rapid multiplication. (See illustrations 

 throughout the book; also parts of a moss, Plate I.) 

 The plants are always some shade of green, often 

 brightened by touches of red, orange, or yellow in 

 the fruit and fruit-stalk. They consist of a stem and 

 leaves, although either of these may be greatly re- 

 duced. The stems are erect, prostrate or ascending, 

 branched or unbranched, reaching several inches in 

 length in the largest species, while others are so 

 short that there is only a tiny tuft of leaves, and the 

 fruit and fruit-stalk are the conspicuous parts of the 

 plants. (See chapter on ''Habit and Manner of 

 Growth," p. 12.) The leaves vary in size, the longest 



