TORREYA 



March, igi6. 

 Vol. i6 No. 3 



COMMON MOSSES. ACCORDING TO HABITAT. A 



NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION BASED ON 



MACROSCOPICAL CHARACTERS 



By Daisy J. Levy ^-/^ 



Introductory .t^^ 



Few groups of plants are of more importance in giving a charm ^♦.Ox 

 and attractiveness to the out-of-doors, than the mosses. Perhaps 

 none are less appreciated, for quite apart from their beauty, it 

 must be remembered that in the economy of the earth, they play 

 a r61e second only to the lichens. 



Lack of familiarity with these forms is largely due to the fact 

 that their identification is based upon features so minute as to 

 require a microscope to reveal them and, furthermore the de- 

 scriptions are so burdened with technical terms as to discourage 

 the beginner. The following pages are designed to enable the 

 beginner to become acquainted with our common mosses, through, 

 the use of his own unaided eye. 



Everyone knows that there are two distinct portions to a moss"- 

 plant. First, the stem, bearing minute leaves. This part of 

 the plant is the gametophyte and may vary in size from a fraction 

 of an inch to two or more inches in length (Fig. 2, E). From the 

 lower end of the gametophyte are minute hair-like outgrowths,, 

 which penetrate the soil. These outgrowths are known as the 

 rhizoids (Fig. 2, E). Secondly, that part of the plant which 

 arises from the gametophyte bears a stalk called the seta, which 

 in its turn is capped with a structure resembling a box, called 

 the capsule. The capsule (Fig. 3) is variously crowned by a hood 

 or calyptra (Fig. 2, £). That part of the plant comprising seta, 



[No. 2, Vol. 16, of ToRREYA, Comprising pp. 33-54, was issued 26 Februarj- 1916.] 



55 



