Moss
Common Green Sphagnum Moss: Sphagnum Girgensohnii
This moss variety is a bright green or slightly yellowish colour with upright stems that are star shaped and flat topped and form a carpet of branches that cluster in bunches of 4 to 5. The sphagnum moss can be found throughout British Columbia but it is most common in the northern areas in lower elevations and also in areas of bogs and swamps with shade.
The Moss Reproduction Cycle |
Apple Rigid Moss: Bartramia StrictaApple Rigid Moss is a small to medium-sized, green to yellow-green species that grows in tufts. It is ribbed when dry, and linear leaves that are straight either wet or dry. Apple Rigid Moss is typically associated with open grasslands with shallow soils, where there are frequent rock outcroppings, and scattered oak woodlands. Sites are generally dry and warm,
having a southern aspect. |
In mosses, the gametophyte is the dominant, recognizable stage of the life cycle and is the stage that carries out most of the plants photosynthesis. The sporophyte is dependent on the gametophyte for supplying water and nutrients.
Mosses depend on water for fertilization to occur, the sperm of a bryophyte must swim to an egg, because of its dependence on water for reproduction, bryophytes must live in habitats where water is available at least part of the year.
Sporophytes, which produce haploids spores grow at the top of the gametophyte plant. When the spores are ripe, they are shed from the capsule like pepper from a shaker.
Mosses depend on water for fertilization to occur, the sperm of a bryophyte must swim to an egg, because of its dependence on water for reproduction, bryophytes must live in habitats where water is available at least part of the year.
Sporophytes, which produce haploids spores grow at the top of the gametophyte plant. When the spores are ripe, they are shed from the capsule like pepper from a shaker.