Club Moss
b Moss (Lycopodium clavatum) are low growing, perennial evergreen herbs with needle like or scale-like leaves. Many species have cone-like clusters of small leaves, each with a kidney- shaped spore capsule at its base, and they only produce one kind of spore. There are over 1000 species of clubmoss around the world.
They are called clubmoss because at first glance they resemble mosses and their leaves are shaped like clubs. They like to live on the forest floor and occur in wet woods among rocks.
Individual plants in many species are connected by horizontal stems that run above ground (runner) or below ground (rhizomes), the actual roots are shallow. They are non-flowering plants, but are vascular plants (plants with special tissues xylem and phloem to conduct water and food) with an interesting strategy of releasing spores that has only been seen in a science lab.
Interesting Facts
Clubmoss evolved around 400 million years ago as one of the earliest vascular plants.
A powder consisting of dried spores of the common clubmoss was once used in Victorian theatre to produce flame-effects.
Striped Wintergreen
Striped Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata) is a perennial evergreen that grows to a height of 4 to 12 inches. They are woody at the base, with their stems emerging from creeping rhizomes. They are also easy to identify with their green and white striped leaves. They are native to North America.
During the spring/summer months it is often obscured from sight and the suns rays by the taller surrounding plants. But throughout the fall/winter months, its leaves have access to the sun’s energy where they photosynthesize and store energy, ready for reproduction in the summertime.
Striped wintergreens flower during the summertime. Their flowers are white and resemble crowns. Their primary pollinators are Bumble Bees but Honey Bees may also visit. If the bees are successful in helping with pollination, the fruit can be seen throughout winter. The dry fruit capsules contain seeds that are released when the capsule opens, and are carried by the wind.
The chemical compounds within the Striped Wintergreen, as well as their leathery, waxy leaves are successful at deterring herbivores and they are generally left alone. However, Leaf cutter Bees like them for their nests. Unlike the plant Wintergreen, they do not share the characteristic of tasting like mint.
Interesting Facts
The Creek Indians claimed it could break down gallstones and kidney stones
Native Americans used it as a tea to treat rheumatism and stomach problems. They also crushed the leaves and applied them to sores and wounds.
Common Haircap Moss
Common haircap moss (Polytrichum commune) can be found all over Mighton Woods and it grows easily in many regions around the country that have high humidity and rainfall.
It is quite tall for a moss with stems often growing 2 to 12 inches. It is dark green in color and browns as it ages. It typically grows in large patches and its stems resemble a miniature display of green fireworks. Stems range in stiffness and the leaves are small and pointed. Common haircap moss also has fibrous rhizoids that can extend into the ground and can produce clonal offsets resulting in dense colonies of plants.
Common haircap moss have separate male and female plants that are fertilized partly by rainfall. Following fertilization, a 4-angled, box-like red capsule is produced on a long stalk (up to 4 inches). When mature the capsule is covered by a hairy golden-brown case and a spore is released in late summer.
Common haircap moss is an endohydric moss, which means that water must be conducted from the base of the plant. Most mosses are considered non-vascular plants, however, common haircap moss shows clear differentiation of water conducting tissue.
Another characteristic that shows a difference between common haircap moss and other mosses is the plants feature of parallel photosynthetic lamellae (tissue plates) on the upper surfaces of its leaves. Most mosses only have a single plate of cells on the leaf surface. This more complex differentiated photosynthetic tissue shows an adaption for dry conditions, where the structure provided protection from water loss.
Common haircap moss provides protective cover for many invertebrate animals, as well as providing nest material for birds, such as the American Robin.
