Climacium dendroides, or tree climacium moss, growing lone and clumping at the entrance to Martin’s Fork, Red River Gorge, KY.
This moss grows about 2 inches tall and sometimes 3 inches, which is fairly tall for a bryophyte. As you may know, the reason why bryophytes usually stay so small and manageable is for water transport; however, in uncommon cases, some bryophytes have a special pseudo-xylem cell sleeve that aids in water transport. In the center of this plant is a column of specialized cells that form large quantities of plasmodesmata networks to adjacent cells, these cells are fairly condensed into the center to allow for something that follows the status quo of what capillary action is,they also require for the cells to be as thoroughly inundated and turgid with water as possible upon maturity; they do this, not by strictly vacuole adaptation but, by removing the vast majority of protoplasm from the cells under scrutiny. This psuedo-xylem has been given an appropriate name “hydroids” because of the general way water is pulled/pumped.
