mudboots

I just got back from Wisconsin and was amazed at the variety of mosses. I didn't have a camera with me while collecting specimens, but I was able to bring a few samples back. The pics are not very good because this gov-issue camera in my office has been through the worst, but there are at least 20 species or morphologies in the pics attached. This was a great trip for a guy from Texas. The sad thing is that now that I have these wonderful specimens, I've realized that I really have no where to put them.

Here are the first 5 pics:

mudboots

5 more pics:

mudboots

Last pics:











Again, I apologize for the picture quality. Some of these specimens really are beautiful.

Coralite

Hey Mud,
I too recently made a trip to Wisconsin and I was impressed by the abundance and diversity of mosses, but these were all terrestrial, forest mosses. Did you happen to find any aquatic mosses?

mudboots

No. In fact the wettest areas these were growing in didn't seem to be a happy home for them. One rock at Amnicon Falls had something growing in a hole in a rock, but there was so much algae over it that I didn't even bother. My wife said I could set up a small tank strictly for mosses and various epiphytes, but I don't think she knows how much money I'd be spending on such a terrarium (unless I could find a small used tank really cheap or free). Sure would be pretty though.

Hmmmm. Now that I think about it, there's not a whole lot of light needed, and a small glass box can't be all that much...

...collectoritis...

ashappard

absolutely!
find an unused aquarium and decent light and make it into a moss tank.
nice finds. short term you could put them in an unused tupperware and wet them occasionally.
cover the container with saran wrap put it in a window and they will be on life support until you find them a home.

armedbiggiet

Attachment 9668 what is that Tonina looks like plant in the corner?

miremonster

Hello armedbiggiet,
I'm not sure - perhaps a moss (Polytrichum?) or a club moss (Huperzia?).

mudboots

I think that was one of the sphagnum species, but I'm not real sure because I'm not much on moss ID. A soil scientist in the Rhinelander, WI office told me there are more than 20 sphagnums in the areas I was in (from Siren up to the north boundary). He may have meant mosses in general, as he may be more of a lumper than a splitter when it comes to flora.

After I get things set up I'll wait a couple weeks (to make sure I didn't kill anything and let the specimens settle in a bit) and then post some better quality pics. I guess I'll just use this same thread since the scape will still be based on a local biotope.

Also, I'm still not afraid of any advice before I mess things up. This will be my first epiphyte trial (I'm assuming they are all epiphytes).

miremonster

I'm sure that the big one below in the middle (below the presumptive Lycopodium) is a Sphagnum:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...6&d=1251126530