Moss

Moss

Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm (0.4–4 in) tall, though some species are much larger, like Dawsonia, the tallest moss in the world which can grow to 50 cm in height. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems. At certain times mosses produce spore capsules which may appear as beak-like capsules borne aloft on thin stalks.

There are approximately 12,000 species of moss classified in the Bryophyta. The division Bryophyta formerly included not only mosses, but also liverworts and hornworts. These other two groups of bryophytes now are often placed in their own divisions.

Read more about Moss:  Classification, Geological History, Habitat, Cultivation, Traditional Uses, Commercial Use

Famous quotes containing the word moss:

    Two months dead, I wrestle with your name
    Whose separate letters make a paltry sum
    That is not you.
    —Howard Moss (b. 1922)

    Father, whom I murdered every night but one,
    That one, when your death murdered me,
    —Howard Moss (b. 1922)

    When in the sea-light every early game
    Was played with love and, if death’s waters came,
    You’d rescue me. How I would take you from,
    Now, if I could, its whirling vacuum.
    —Howard Moss (b. 1922)