“Even a small flower as small as a moss flower can bloom like a peony.” Written by Yuan Mu, a poet in ancient China. This compares the “flower” of the moss to the beauty and brightness of the peony.

Indeed, moss can be very impressive – regarding the simple structure but its population and landscape. In addition, they are not traditional “plants” that we might consider, and have been proved adaptable as they have existed longer than human beings.

SImilarly, fern is also different from other plants. However, are those real “flowers”, and what are the structures of the the moss? Let’s find out!

Where can you see moss?

From a narrow perspective, you can find it on pavements and roofs. More specifically, they can be found in the moist areas. Especially, the regions with high density of raining days, and in forests, they are easily found, according to Biology Textbook. Geographically, they are present all over the world except for salty water.

Structures? Difference with flowers plants?

In general, as modern plants (mainly Angiosperms) have roots, stems and leaves, and for reproduction, they also have the stages which flowers, seeds and fruits are present. As a result, moss is an outlier.

In fact, they have the structures of leaves and stems, and instead of roots, they have rhizoids — “fake” roots. They are firmly fixed to the rock surface by their rhizomes.

Mosses do not have vascular system, such as xylem, nor veins in the leaves. They absorb water through the surface of the leaves, and they are also capable of performing photosynthesis, , also known as autotroph. For reproduction, the sporophyte part of the life, as shown in the diagram, spores come out of the spore capsules and are spread to different destinations.

This brings us to the life cycle of moss. Stem and leaves constitute gametophyte, and afterwards sporophyte – dependent on the gametophyte – grows from the gametophyte, and it generates spores (asexual reproduction), which can be considered as the new lives.

This way, it is different from flowers, which generates seeds and are pollinated. The “flowers” part of mosses are the part of spore capsules that resemble flowers, which are relatively small compared the “peony” mentioned in the poem.

Ecological importances of moss

A brief summary of the ecological importance of mosses is that they can regulate the moisture in the environment, and they are food source for the small organisms. They are also pioneering species that play an important role in soil formation.

Can I keep and raise moss?

Yes, you definitely can. For place, you can consider terrarium in order to minimize evaporation to the outer environment.

You can water them when they seem dehydrated, so they should not be watered very often. They should be watered with distilled water, rain water or filtered water, but preferably not with tap water. In addition, try not to expose it to sunlight directly as they might be hurt by sun and heat.

In general, mosses play a crucial role in the ecosystem, and they are powerful as they have existed for about 400 million years. Even though they are short and small, they should not be neglected, in fact, we should value them respect the impacts they have on the environment and Earth as a whole.

Do you have any thoughts on the roles of mosses? Please discuss below and we could all learn together.