Six Muhlenberg Botanical Club members came and we saw 15 species of outstanding mosses** and five outstanding** liverworts.

It was a very satisfying outing for those who came out on a hot day and enjoyed the slow walk down into the cooler valley. The rain a day or two before had the bryophytes in fine condition. 

Species are listed in the order we found them as we went down the valley from the parking area to the confluence of Steinman and Trout Runs. 

(Note Listings with an asterisk * had Sporophytes present) 

Mosses

  • Bryoandersonia ilicebra,    called  Spoon Moss  was growing in large mats on the north facing road bank along Stump road as we left the parking lot.
  • Atrichum angustatum,     is one in a genus of mosses which has a "racing stripe" of darker green tissue down the center of each leaf.
  • Leucobryum sp.     called White Moss or Cushion Moss was growing nicely in the dry woods among Beech tree roots, Fagus grandifolia.
  • Polytrichum ohioense *     called Hair-cap Moss was also growing nicely in the drier woods.
  • Mnium affine     we saw this moss with thin oval leaves in a number of spots.
  • Thuidium delicatulum,     called Fern Moss, this species has minute leaves but the multiplying branching stems make it look very fernlike.

 

 

 Fissidens sp.     is a member of a genus with beautiful and distinctive leaves which overlap each other at the base sort of like a spray of Iris leaves.


 
 
 


 

  • Atrichum crispum * is one in a genus of mosses which has a "racing stripe" of darker green tissue down the center of each leaf.
  • Atrichum undulatum  is another species which we saw when we were beside the stream.
  • ?Platygerium repens * was a common species which we saw near the stream which is not in Susan's book because it is not very outstanding**.
  •  Hypnum sp. probably H. imponens which is the most common, has long pointed leaves which are close together wrap around to the back side of the stem thus giving the plant a braided look  from the top. There are several species of Hypnum which have their leaves thus arranged.

  • Dicranum sp. (a species which grows on rock, schist in this case) the Dricranum look wind-swept and the leaves on each stem are bent to one side like the bristles on a old broom.

  • Mnium hornum, growing right beside or in the stream.
  • Bartramia pomiformis * called Apple Moss is a moss with unique spherical sporophytes which we found growing with other mosses on a rock.
  •  Eurhynchium riparioides was another species which we saw near the stream which is not in Susan's book because it is not very outstanding.**

Liverworts  


  • Nowellia curvifolia * is a very delicate leafy liverwort which we found growing on the bare surface of a rather soft and spongy rotting log which had lost its bark.
  • Scapania sp. is a liverwort with two-lobed leaves which we found mixed with mosses on damp rocks.
  • Bazzania trilobata has three-toothed leaves, rhizoids and "Y" shaped branching.  Bazzania plants were especially nice on the rock cliff right at the confluence of the streams.

  • Conocephalum concinum   is a liverwort Susan found down at the creek   Susan suggests in her book that a good common name for this large thallose liverwort would be Snake-skin Liverwort. 
  • Frullania sp. is a dark, almost black, leafy liverwort which grows on dry tree bark. we found it growing on a Tulip poplar, Liriodendron tulipifera. It is easiest to see on gray barked tree. One speciman we found had new green growth at the tips of the stems. These will darken later in the year.

We used Susan Munch's book "Outstanding Mosses & Liverworts of Pennsylvania & Nearby States" as we studied the the mosses and Liverworts.

(Note Listings with and * had Sporophytes present) 

** The criteria which Susan used to decide which mosses were outstanding for inclusion in her book was;  Are they fairly common and can they be fairly easily identified at least to the genus level with the use of a 10x hand lens? If yes then they are outstanding!


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