#bryophyta

NOOOOO

Firstly, this picture is MOSS. Actual moss-moss. NOT lichen. It is moss In Iceland, so it is Icelandic moss generally, NOT Iceland Moss (common name) specifically, which is, yes, a lichen--Cetraria iselandica. (This is why common names suck so hard)

Cetraria islandica looks like this:

Olive to brown, glossy, leathery, grows with moss, is not moss. Moss and lichen are different things.

Secondly, C. iselandica is a symbiosis between a fungus and a green algae, NOT cyanobacteria. Don't even know where they got that from.

Thirdly, while there is a lot of lichen in Iceland, when you look across the moss fields (the ones I know they are referring to), you are indeed seeing mostly moss.

That's moss, baby! Along with smatterings of vascular plants and lichens, but majority Racomitrium moss!

Also did you know that moss isn't just moss? There are at least 460 species of moss in Iceland, along with nearly 200 species of other terrestrial non-vascular plants! They don't get nearly enough respect, and saying that the moss isn't even moss is like, so bizarre and misinformed? A great example of how little even folks who should be capable of doing the bare minimum of fact checking are relying too much on false sources of info

This weeks microscopy features Lunularia cruciata (Lunulariaceae). Lunularia is a monotypic genus, meaning L. cruciata is its only species. This thallose liverwort is pretty unmistakable due to its crescent-shaped gemmae cups, which look like little crescent moons (hence the name!). They definitely don't make the liverworts look like they have little faces.

It's widespread around the world but is introduced in Australia. Still, it's one of the most common liverworts you'll see in urban areas.

It reproduces almost entirely asexually through its gemmae, which are water-distributed. Sexual reproduction is quite rare in this species, so no photos of sporophytes this time around!

I do, however, have this series. First photo shows gemmae that have spashed off the thallose and onto dirt, where they'll slowly grow (second photo) into mini thallose liverworts. You can also see green tendrils of algae in the first photo, which are really common on moist soil.

For the Phylum Level Champion!

Reminder: This is the final PHYLUM round. Winner goes on to classes!

Magnoliophyta (aka angiosperms, flowering plants): A large, diverse phylum with over 300,000 known species. Two of the more well-known sub-divisions are monocots (including grains, onion-like plants, and irises and lilies) and eudicots (including most leafy trees, a wide variety of flowers such as sunflowers and roses, and many food plants from coffee to cabbages.)