Carpet Moss Mosses are
simple, rootless evergreen plants. They can live in
a wide variety of habitats, but are most often
found covering the ground, growing on stream beds,
and on the base of trees in deciduous woodlands.
Carpet moss grows in eastern North America and
Europe. Carpet
Moss, like its name, carpets the ground. In the
spring the carpet moss is golden green, and turns
dark green as it gets older. It looks almost
velvety. Its leaves grow parallel to each other and
taper off to a point at the end. The edges of the
leaves have long, narrow cells which grow in pairs
and make the margins look serrated. Carpet moss reproduces both sexually and asexually. When producing sexually, depending on weather conditions, mosses produce small female structures that produce egg cells, or male structures that produce sperm cells. These can grow on different parts of the same plant. The sperms fertilize the eggs and develop into a spore-plant, or sporophyte. The sporophyte begins to grow from the female plant, taking nutrients from its parent because it can't produce its own food. This sporophyte is the long stalk with a small capsule on the end that you often see growing out of carpet moss. The capsules produce the spores. When conditions are dry, the capsules open and release the spores. These spores grow into the leafy male or female mosses. Moss can also reproduce asexually when bits of stem or leaves are separated from the plant and develop into new plants. Many people use Carpet Moss as a ground cover in gardening. Many years ago, people used to stuff their beds with Carpet Moss because they thought it made them sleep better. 2000
bibliography: Shenk, G. (1999) Moss Gardening: Including Lichens, Liverworts and Other Miniatures. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. "Carpet Moss", http://members.eb.com, (6/18/00) "Mosses and Liverworts in Wale: Mnium hornum", http://home.clara.net/adhale/bryos/mhornum.htm "Moss Life Cycle", http://www.wfu.edu/~fuller5/moss.htm "Moss Reproduction", http://www.hiddenforest.co.nz/bryophytes/mosses/reproduction.htm
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