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How Moss Works

Author's Note

I hadn't given moss much thought before writing this article. It's not easy to find in the semi-arid Utah valley where I live. Then one evening after I had written the section on the moss life cycle, my wife and I took a walk along a river in a nearby canyon. And then I saw it -- moss! I launched excitedly into a description of the plant's structure, pointing out each part to her. I'm sure she was thrilled!

What, then, did I learn from writing this article other than the origin of moss, its structure, its reproductive strategy, its methods for acquiring nutrients, and how to grow and kill it? The world is a pretty interesting place if you just take the time to learn a little about it.

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Sources

  • "AP Biology: Learn the Moss Life Cycle." YouTube. Feb. 7, 2010. (March 22, 2012) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lr4CjPMO80
  • Australian National Botanic Gardens. "What Is a Moss?" April 15, 2008. (March 23, 2012) http://www.anbg.gov.au/bryophyte/what-is-moss.html
  • Conrad, Henry S. and Paul L. Redfearn, Jr. "How to Know the Mosses and Liverworts." Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Company Publishers. 1979.
  • Cullina, William. "Gardening with Moss." Horticulture Magazine. June 28, 2011. (March 22, 2012) http://www.hortmag.com/plants/plant-profiles/gardening-with-moss
  • Encyclopedia Britannica. "Moss." 2012. (March 22, 2012) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/393741/moss
  • Glime, Janice M. "Bryophyte Ecology." 2009. (March 22, 2012) http://www.bryoecol.mtu.edu/
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  • Mergel, Maria and Philip Dickey. "Tales from the North Side: Problems with Moss." April 2007. (March 24, 2012) http://watoxics.org/files/moss.pdf/view
  • Oregon State University. "Living with Mosses." Spring 2000. (March 22, 2012) http://bryophytes.science.oregonstate.edu/mosses.htm
  • Pierce Conservation District. "Pasture Management: How Plants Grow." 2012. (March 23, 2012) http://www.piercecountycd.org/tip_plantsgrow_p.html
  • Richardson, D.H.S. "The Biology of Mosses." New York: John Wiley & Sons. 1981.
  • Schenk, George. "Moss Gardening: Including Lichens, Liverworts, and Other Miniatures." Portland, Ore.: Timber Press. 1997.
  • United States Geological Survey. "Capillary Action." March 9, 2012. (March 23, 2012) http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/capillaryaction.html
  • Whitman, Ann. "More Moss." National Gardening Association. 2012. (March 22, 2012) http://www.garden.org/articles/articles.php?q=show&id=1135
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