uk moss id

[bridgey_c]

I found this moss a couple of months back growing on a tree at the edge of the local sand dunes. We have a large area that is being allowed to grow into a salt marsh type habitat and this was growing around there (southport). I cant quite remember now but im sure it was semi submerged. I originally stuck it in the tank half in, half out but the part of the moss out of the tank dried fast and quickly started to die off. I then cut the remaining moss and divided it into three lots and tied them to this wood.

It has been growing fairly successfully, apart from when I spot dose a bit of liquid carbon on algae..

I also seem to remember it being more of a carpet when in its natural habitat whereas in the tank it has grown into strands.

Anyone any id ideas?

 

[AndrewH]

It looks like a type of moss called a "hook moss" because of the leaf shape.
If it is that though, I cant remember it ever growing underwater - which is maybe why this hook moss (if it is!) is thin and straggly looking.?

 

[AndrewH]

Oh..... Although on second thought, its probably this.
Drepanocladus polygamus | BBS Field Guide

 

[bridgey_c]

cheers for that Andrew.

The pictures on the link are definitely familiar. The moss is now only a couple of mm's from the surface so it will be interesting to see how it establishes itself once it gets there.

That's a great site too. I collected half a dozen gorgeous looking mosses whilst I was there and I have tried growing them in an emersed setup on the window sill, without much success so far..... I have been trying to find a reference site to find out what they are and that site is perfect. cheers

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Pick a name really, could be a Drepanocladus spp. or it might be Calliergonella cuspidata etc. D. polygamus is a small moss, and not very common, but definitely does grow in dune slacks.

It looks like a type of moss called a "hook moss"

Either Leptodictyum riparium or Drepanocladus aduncus are "Knieff's Hook Moss", and are bigger, chunkier, more common mosses in the UK. Leptodictyum riparium is "Stringy moss" as well.

Oh..... Although on second thought, its probably this. Drepanocladus polygamus | BBS Field Guide

The BBS Field Guide book is £26 <Mosses and Liverworts of Britain and Ireland: A Field Guide: Amazon.co.uk: Ian D.M. Atherton, Sam D. S. Bosanquet, Mark Llawley: Books>, and very well worth buying as the images are much higher quality than the on-line pdf's, and it also has moss by habitat and a key.

Have a look here for C. cuspidata in the tank:
<Parosphromenus Project :: Thema: Mosses in Paro-tanks (1/1)>

cheers Darrel

 

[bridgey_c]

thanks for the info Darrell.

We have got some really beautiful small streams that meander along the front of part of the dunes here. they flow into the marshy area and then continue a little further out onto the beach. They are full of aquatic plants, mosses and small fish (sticklebacks I guess). There was an area where bushes and trees had grown but recently after all the rain the council has brought in diggers and stripped the streams of any obstructions. I was thinking of getting some pictures of the mosses in their habitat but I think it might have gone now. After I have learned more and have a few years experience of planted tanks I plan to make a biotope of our dunes in a tank. It would be a shame if I collected all the flora and fauna and killed it instantly so collecting these mosses was an introduction to learning about our natural habitats. Though the more I read the more difficult I am thinking it might be... Planted tanks have reminded me how much fun learning was (and is)!! Marine tanks will be my next adventure.....