Marvellous Moss

Today we met David Chamberlain, moss recorder for Edinburgh since 1970, on Corstorphine Hill for a tour of some of its bryophytes -- that is, mosses and liverworts. None of us had ever looked at moss seriously before, beyond thinking it was green and quite pretty.

We were astonished in the next two hours, despite the covering of snow, to see at least 23 different types of moss (I think I missed a few!) and five different liverworts. The full Corstorphine Hill list is far longer. We had no idea there were such riches to be found in a park in the middle of Edinburgh. Here's the full story...

Mosses

Our first two mosses were:

1. Bryum capillare (Capillary Thread-moss)

2. Brachythecium rutulabulum (Rough-stalked Feather-moss)

Bryum capillare and Brachythecium rutulabulum

We spent some time looking at these because they show the structure of moss very clearly. The green leafy part only has one set of chromosomes (haploid), and can reproduce by spreading sideways. However, the base of the stalks are diploid, and from these spring new haploid spores in capsules. The spores can blow thousands of miles in the wind, so the same species of moss are found all over the world.

3. Grimmia trichophylla (Hair-pointed Grimmia). These show one of the many adaptations mosses have developed to retain water: they have little white hairs that condense water from damp air.

The next few mosses were all 'dendroid', that is, tree-shaped: they look like miniature branches of conifer trees:

4. Hypnum cupressiforme (Cypress-leaved Plait-moss). "This is common as daisies", said David.

5. Eurhynchium hians (Swartz' Feather-moss)

6. Mnium Hornum (Swan's-neck Thyme Moss)

This fork-moss, however, was quite a different shape:
7. Dicranum scoparium (Broom fork-moss)

Dicranum scoparium

8. Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus (Springy turf-moss) "This is a nuisance because it takes over lawns", said David.

9. Dicranum Tauricum (Fragile fork-moss) is an example of one of the extraordinary and diverse ways mosses reproduce: the ends of the leaves snap off, blowing away and lodging somewhere. If you touch it, your fingers will be covered in green bits.

Dicranum Tauricum

10. Dicranoweisia cirrata (Common pincushion) often grows on top of fence posts, and has little points on top of its capsules. I'm sure I've photographed that before, I thought. I'm pretty sure that's it on the Wild Reekie logo, on top of a fence post in Mortonhall.

Dicranoweisia cirrata

11. Dicranella heteromalla (Silky Forklet-moss)

12. Polytrichum formosum (Black Haircap) was an amazing, glossy moss that looked like a miniature version of something you might find in the Botanics glasshouses, not up in the snow on Corstorphine Hill.

Polytrichichum formosum

13. Pseudotaxiphyllum elegans (Elegant silk-moss) grows on the ground. A lot of the English names are usefully descriptive -- and usefully related to the Latin names.

14. Amblystegium serpens (Creeping Feather-moss)

What do mosses grow on? Many grow on both walls or trees, but some are more particular. They grow on the shady north of the tree, but often also on the west, catching the damp winds. Tree-bark, David told us, has a pH which varies from 7 (neutral) to 5 (slightly acidic), and the more acidic it is, the fewer mosses can tolerate it. Conifer trees tend to be acidic and moss-free (although they provide other useful roles in a forest like winter shelter), while elder is one of the most hospitable.

The next two mosses we saw were closely related and growing on the same tree:

15. Orthotrichum pulchellum (Elegant Bristle-moss)

16. Orthotrichum affine (Wood Bristle-moss)

None of the Wild Reekians had hand-lenses, although David and his two apprentice-naturalists all did, and they were keen to lend them to us, and this was where, after several failed attempts, we at last got the hang of them. It was like diving into a magical world, with all kinds of miniature features of the moss world suddenly visible even to those of us who thought our eyesight was good. We could clearly see the difference between these two mosses, which look like different types of miniature heather.

So from this point on we were both gripped with Bryophytic enthusiasm, and beginning to get a bit tired and cold... We rattled through a few more species, eagerly passing round the hand lenses...

17. Ulota bruchii (Bruch's Pincushion)

18. Ulota phyllantha (Frizzled pincushion)

19. Calliergon cuspidatum (Pointed Spear-moss) which looked similar to many of the dendroid mosses we saw earlier but its fronds were decidedly spear-shaped, with a long point on the end.

20. Didymodon insulanus (Cylindric Beard-moss)

21. Cryphaea heteromalla. This moss, sticking distinctively out from the tree trunk in a sprightly way, was, to me, the most exciting of all. David has been recording since 1970, and the list he gave me of 79 different mosses recorded on Corstorphine Hill was made in 2005. But this one was not on it: it is new since this list was made, and was able to re-colonise the hill thanks to air quality improving. All that hard work campaigning by charities like Friends of the Earth has meant this little soul has been able to move back into Edinburgh, and quite quickly. With even better air quality, more would join it.

Cryphaea heteromalla

22. Grimmia pulvinata (Grey-cushioned Grimmia). I'm sorry I didn't photograph this, as the grey haze of white hairs was very striking. Like the other Grimmia we saw at the start, it can create its own moisture which condenses on the cobwebby hairs.

23. Tortula muralis (Wall Screw-moss)

The last moss we saw was my first identification, because it was also the first moss we saw: Bryum Capillare, flowering like anything along a fallen branch. I've noticed these for the last few springs and I always think they're better than snowdrops...

Bryum capillare

Liverworts

But there is more to Bryophytes than moss! We also saw five different species of liverwort, and although we probably couldn't distinguish them again, we might be at least able to tell a moss from a liverwort...

1. Barbilophozia hatcheri (Patcher's Pawwort) was the first one we saw: we speculated that the common name came from its usefulness patching cracks in houses to keep the wind and water out. It is ostensibly similar to moss, but looks quite different -- more primitive and less plant-like, perhaps. 

Barbilophozia hatcheri

I said the Wild Reekians knew nothing about moss: this was not completely true. One of us had read  Gathering Moss, by Robin Hill Kimmerer, which explores the cultural uses of moss throughout history. She knew about the patching! 

2. Ptilidium ciliare (Ciliated Fringewort) looked similar to the Pawwort, but as its name suggests was more fringy.

3. Metzgeria fruticulosa (Blueish Veilwort) was the other sort of liverwort, which forms flat, slimy-looking beds. Its leaves are much narrower than Pellia epiphylla below.

4. Pellia epiphylla (Overleaf Pellia) looked like what I'd always previously called 'liverwort'. Well now I know it's just one of 26 species that grow on Corstorphine Hill alone. 

Pellia epiphylla (in bad light!)

5. Metzgeria furcata (Forked Veilwort) 

Fungus

We also saw a couple of fungus growing on an elder tree, and thanks to Vladimir the fungus expert, discovered they were Velvet shank fungus, and Jew's ear fungus, which we thought was due for a re-naming! [Edit: I see from the comments it's now known as Jelly ear - thank you Crafty Green Poet!]

Velvet shank fungus

Jew's ear fungus

Altogether it was a quite magical morning. If you ever thought little nature was to be seen in winter, or that you have to drive off to some remote part of Arran or the Highlands to see a dazzling array of species, ask David Chamberlain to take you to see the moss on Corstorphine Hill. I hope we'll do this again at Wild Reekie. It was one of those days after which you'll never see the world in quite the same way again -- and we're all going get a hand-lens!

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