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February 22, 2007 : Unidentified Moss
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Keywords: Bryidae | UBC Botanical Garden
Conduction of water in bryophytes (mosses, liverworts and hornworts) is broadly classified in three ways: ectohydric, mixohydric and endohydric.
Ectohydric bryophytes lack any form of specialized cells for internal conduction. Instead, water is conducted externally, typically through capillary action. Reliance upon external conduction, I'm certain, is correlated with height of these organisms – they tend to be the shortest of the bryophytes.
Today's photograph of an unidentified bryid moss is an example of a mixohydric bryophyte. While some water is conducted externally, these organisms have a measure of internal cell specialization, such as hydroids or stereids, that give them the ability to move water and nutrients within its tissues. It is not bona fide conducting tissue, i.e., it does not form an interconnected system throughout the entire body of the plant (including leaves or entire length of the stem), but it does represent a rudimentary way to transport water internally and decrease reliance on external moisture for growth and reproduction.
The third grouping, endohydric bryophytes, is represented by this BPotD on Polytrichum juniperinum. In these plants, an internal conducting system exists that is analogous to the conducting system of vascular plants. By no coincidence (as is mentioned in the Polytrichum link), this grouping contains the tallest of bryophytes reaching over a half metre in height.
In all three broad groupings, it is important to note that water uptake tends to be from atmospheric moisture (suggested in today's photo) absorbed via the leaf or stem cells as opposed to uptake in moisture from the substrate (compare with vascular plants, which often uptake moisture via roots in soil). For both ectohydric and mixohydric bryophytes in particular, this means that water is absorbed near the top of organism and passed downward to subtending tissues, the inverse of the way one typically thinks about water uptake in plants.
Photography resource link: For inspiration, the photomicrography of Hans Van Rafelghem.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at February 22, 2007 6:02 AM
Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Comments
Posted by: Douglas Justice at February 22, 2007 8:50 AM
Absolutely spectacular shot. Is it cropped from the original?
I took a similiar shot in my neighborhood last year:
Posted by: Eric in SF at February 22, 2007 10:48 AM
Thanks both of you. No, this is full frame.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at February 22, 2007 10:55 AM
beautiful.
Posted by: reino carlson at February 22, 2007 11:28 AM
I am your most grateful student. I learn so much from your explanations and photos.
Posted by: Patricia at February 22, 2007 2:01 PM
Great Photography
Posted by: michael Martinez at February 22, 2007 2:32 PM
ditto Douglas and Patricia; I couldn't express it better.
Posted by: bev at February 22, 2007 3:28 PM
I agree with Douglas. I love mosses but didn't know there were so many water delivery adaptations. I like the vocabulary too.
Meg
Posted by: Meg Bernstein at February 22, 2007 5:38 PM
A "to-die-for" picture. And info I've never come across before. Thank you, thank you (again)for an inspiring web site.
Posted by: deb lievens at February 22, 2007 5:56 PM
Crystal clear, love it!
Posted by: Cyndy Henderson at February 22, 2007 7:13 PM
Absolutely spectacular shot, thanks Daniel,
Gabriella
Posted by: Gabriella at February 23, 2007 10:51 AM
Fascinating. I didn't know all this either. Great photo.
Posted by: van at February 23, 2007 3:20 PM
Splendid photo of the moss, and very interesting information. Thanks!
Posted by: Martin LaBar at February 23, 2007 4:03 PM
Thanks for putting my link in your article.
Posted by: Hans Van Rafelghem at August 23, 2008 6:19 AM
This looks like it could be a Ribbed Bog Moss (Aulacomnium palustre). Forestry Student at Fleming College, Lindsay, ON, Canada
Posted by: Sean M. at October 1, 2009 12:07 PM
Just surfing back to this page from 2.5 years in the future...
I just love both the moss itself, and the photo. Thank you, Sean M., for the suggested name and also for drawing me back here.
That's a great photography link at the end of the write-up --- more photos by Hans Van Rafelghem, really fabulous pictures. Check out this beautiful one of Veronica agrestis --- http://www.pbase.com/hvr_oosterzele/image/59719187
--- he captures the glitter on the petals, which is not so easy to do.
Posted by: Mary Ann, in Toronto at October 1, 2009 6:52 PM
Just to correct my mistaken assumption... the moss photo was taken by Daniel (not Hans).
Gorgeous!
Posted by: Mary Ann, in Toronto at October 1, 2009 6:57 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Daniel,
Wow! That is one very cool shot.
As a lover of scientifically precise terms, I really appreciate being able to add those little ecto-, mixo- and endo-morsels to my botanical lexicon. It's rare to find technical writing (particularly in a blog) that is this entertaining and refreshingly succinct--to say nothing of the consistently excellent photography. Bravo! (and keep it up).