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Flowerless plants; ferns, mushrooms, mosses, lichens, and seaweeds

Flowerless plants; ferns, mushrooms, mosses, lichens, and seaweeds

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MOSSES<br />

in dense cushions you may make up your mind that<br />

you have some kind of a hypnum. Examine it closely<br />

with a magnifying glass. If it is quite large <strong>and</strong> has<br />

bright-red stems showing through the leaves, it is a<br />

Schreber's Hypnum.<br />

This is a<br />

beautiful moss<br />

which grows in<br />

abundance in pastures<br />

<strong>and</strong> open<br />

woods. We have<br />

seen almost the<br />

entire surface of<br />

decaying logs<br />

covered with its<br />

dense green cush-<br />

ions. If you gath-<br />

er some of this, it<br />

will keep for a<br />

long time. .When<br />

placed in water<br />

the fresh, green look will return, <strong>and</strong> the red of the<br />

stems will be quite bright again.<br />

The stems of this moss are often from four to six<br />

inches long <strong>and</strong> nearly erect. They crowd very close<br />

together. The capsules ripen in the fall. One would<br />

think that such large <strong>plants</strong> would have many capsules,<br />

but they do not.<br />

Schreber's Hypnum.<br />

106

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