Hi!!! I have been looking for mossheads on this site!! And specifically people who actually study bryophytes and know stuff!!!! Hi!!! Okay I’m normal. I’m someone who loves moss as a hobby I’m wondering if you have any recommendations for literature that will help me learn to ID actual species of moss? I know it’s challenging because there are thousands of species in North America alone but I’m wondering where to begin (without pursuing a degree in biology first). I have a hand lens and need to get a microscope but idk what books might be good guides for this kind of thing?
Bold of you to assume I know anything, but thank you. Moss is a stellar hobby keep it up!
Moss ID is incredibly difficult on the surface but once you get into it you may find (like I did) that they're not much more difficult than tricky vascular plants like grasses.
The trick with bryophytes is that they are just very small.
So you're already on the right track, you need something to make them big!
You would be shocked what you can achieve with just the hand lens, sometimes I don't even bother with putting them under a microscope unless I really have to.
anyways,
Literature
I'm going to assume you're in North America which works out because I'm in extra North America (Canada).
Here's a really brief reference list for ID in order of difficulty:
Field Key, British Bryological Society (PDF)
Moss Flora of the Maritime Provinces, Robert R. Ireland (PDF)
Key to the Moss Genera in North America North of Mexico, Flora of North America (link here!)
These are the few that I tend to gravitate towards first.
The first two are available as free pdfs on the internet. You'll have to search for them as linking directly to a pdf in a post may not be stable or secure!
The British key barely requires microscopy and is well illustrated, but lacks a glossary of terms... It's a free portion of a book that you can buy, theoretically. With that said, it's a really practical guide and contains the least technical jargon. They emphasize widespread species so it's quite useful almost anywhere you are. I just wouldn't trust things down to the species level unless you're 110% sure.
The Maritime Guide is completely illustrated and has a fantastic glossary that is also illustrated which blew my mind. Even if your area doesn't have much overlap with the Maritimes physically, this guide covers so much you'll probably find it useful. It's even stellar as just a dictionary for our last key.
The FNA or Flora of North America moss key. This key is stupidly technical and so hard to use. But it has everything (in NA), presumably. Proceed with caution, it will probably give you more than you need. Banging your head against it sucks BUT you will learn so much. This key uses a lot of microscope characteristics however. There is also a textbook like sheet describing fancy terms they use, its a pretty good read! It's... somewhere on the website. (and boring as all hell unless you really REALLY love moss)
Then there's supplemental information, for that I use mainly one text:
Bryophyte Ecology, Janice Glime, PhD: Link here
This is a giant ebook. It's completely free and it contains world class information. I am the biggest fan girl of Janice Glime, she rocks.
It's well over a gigabyte to download all volumes of this textbook. Volume 1 alone has over 1000 pages I believe. I use this effectively like my google for anything bryophyte related. Especially for morphology, ecology, or weird stuff like phenology (timing of growth).
They also include a LOT of information on the interactions with other species, like habitat for tardigrades.
Finding Better Sources
These may not work the best for you SO if you're on it, poke around on INaturalist. Look up "Bryophyta" in your area and see which ones have been identified. A lot of those people will be familiar with your area and some have extensive resource lists in their bios.
There are also many websites with local flora but they're often old and hard to find. I think Illinois has one? Oregon has a great one for Liverworts if you're feelin' fancy.
End
Consider this the first iteration of the "How to name those little green things that are all over the place". I would really like to put together a well organized guide for those who want to get started. But for now, this should help you! Anonymous person! At the very least.
Happy mossing, tag me in your finds!!!
That goes for everyone, tag me in moss you silly nature people.
