I just got back from a trip to Maui, where I met up with my . . . uncle's father-in-law. Anyway, I call him Granpa, great guy. He's an ex-ranger and knows a lot of the plants on the island and all the nature trails. When he found out I was interested in moss he offered to take us on a hike way up in the mountains where the mist collects. Maui has been in a drought for the last five years, but I still had a lot of success on the hike.
For reference, I'll just assign all the plants a letter.
Moss A
This is a moss I have found near my house before, it grows everywhere and is hardy and common. I have even grown it submerged for over a month. Semi-aquatic I believe. However, the fronds grow straight up and becomes very stringy. Not as attractive as the terrestrial form in my opinion.
Moss B
I know it's hard to tell from the photo, but this moss' frounds are longer and very thick which is different from moss A. I found this moss growing at river edge, right above the surface in places it would be splashed. No submerged growth unfortunately.
Moss C
We came accross a small cliff where water was constantly running over the rocks and mud. The source was a spring above. This place was very interesting, as there were many mosses and liverworts growing beneath the flow of water and in places where the water splashed over rocks. There was even wild duckweed and riccia growing on the hill! Anyway, this moss C was growing prolifically on that cliff. It has very long, giant trianglular fronds.
A single strand of moss C in my hand.
Moss D
Moss D was from the same cliff, but only grew in places where water was constantly running over it. It feels very hard like a liverwort. The moss has very compact triangular growth with very short fronds.
A single frond of moss D in my fingertips.
Moss E
This is a river-side moss growing only under rock edges where water would splash it. Still, no submerged growth. It has very dainty light green fronds. It's hard to describe the shape. It's like the vertabrae of the moss is attached to the rock, and then smaller fronds grow up from it with the taller ones near the base of the vertabrae and getting shorter until the tip. Hope that helps to describe it. I don't have a macro lense so this is the best I can do.
Moss F
This was found on the cliff, by the river side, on trees, in decorative pools for koi at the hotel, on rocks under the artificial water-fall at the hotel, outside my hotel room, floating on the surface of the ponds, you get the picture. Still, it was floating on the water so I figured I'd get a sample.
Speaking of decorative ponds at the hotel, those things were completely invaded by submersed sagitteria. I asked the manager, and he said it was not a plant that had been planted in the pond. Made sense to me because it was growing in some places where no one would see it. It was pretty to see, but it disturbs me a bit that the plant could be rabidly spreading on its own. It was flowering a lot too.
Liverwort A
This was one of the liverworts growing on the cliff where it could be moistened by the spring. It has serrated edges and is very hard.
Liverwort B
Another liverwort from the spring-cliff. As you can see, this one has very massive thalli! It did not mat like the other mosses or liverworts, but would often be growing amongst them.
Liverwort C
Another liverwort from the spring-cliff. It has very compact growth with small, dark green, forking thalli. My first thought that it was a riccardia species?
Isn't this a pretty liverwort? NOT!! This is actually a fern! It just happens to have fronds less than half the size of my fingernail!
One of the very smallest ferns in the world. It is a species that only grows in Hawaii. This particular fern dries out pretty easily, so it only grows in parts of the islands with high humidity and often grows amongst mosses to help it conserve liquid. It is very easy to mistake this fern for a moss as it grows amongst them. There is quite a bit of it growing in the jungles by my house in Nuuanu though. I wonder if it can grow aquatically . . .
I emptied out one of my planted 10g tanks to make a viva-type set up for all the new bryophytes (and the fern). I tried to plant everything both above and below the water in different places. The fern I planted above water only under the water fall. I want to slowly assimilate it I guess. It's set up so that the filter out-flow pours over the emersed plants.
What type of lighting will give the best chance of success? The tank currently has medium, medium-low lighting. I could make it high lighting, but I'm not sure if that's best for the mosses/liverworts. Can someone give me a hint? I do have CO2 running in the water.
BTW-- I also ran accross "willow moss" at an LFs. For those curious Hawaii people, it's Pet's and Plants. Well, we all know how often "willow moss" is willow moss. Still, the moss definitely looks and feels different from any of the Taxiphylum or Vasicularia I've grown previously in my tanks. Here's some photos:
I tied it to the filter out-flow in my grow-out tank.
Well, here's to hoping that it actually is willow moss, and that at least some of the plants I brought back will make the adjustment to aquatic life. I hope you guys enjoy this post!
For reference, I'll just assign all the plants a letter.
Moss A
This is a moss I have found near my house before, it grows everywhere and is hardy and common. I have even grown it submerged for over a month. Semi-aquatic I believe. However, the fronds grow straight up and becomes very stringy. Not as attractive as the terrestrial form in my opinion.
Moss B
I know it's hard to tell from the photo, but this moss' frounds are longer and very thick which is different from moss A. I found this moss growing at river edge, right above the surface in places it would be splashed. No submerged growth unfortunately.
Moss C
We came accross a small cliff where water was constantly running over the rocks and mud. The source was a spring above. This place was very interesting, as there were many mosses and liverworts growing beneath the flow of water and in places where the water splashed over rocks. There was even wild duckweed and riccia growing on the hill! Anyway, this moss C was growing prolifically on that cliff. It has very long, giant trianglular fronds.
A single strand of moss C in my hand.
Moss D
Moss D was from the same cliff, but only grew in places where water was constantly running over it. It feels very hard like a liverwort. The moss has very compact triangular growth with very short fronds.
A single frond of moss D in my fingertips.
Moss E
This is a river-side moss growing only under rock edges where water would splash it. Still, no submerged growth. It has very dainty light green fronds. It's hard to describe the shape. It's like the vertabrae of the moss is attached to the rock, and then smaller fronds grow up from it with the taller ones near the base of the vertabrae and getting shorter until the tip. Hope that helps to describe it. I don't have a macro lense so this is the best I can do.
Moss F
This was found on the cliff, by the river side, on trees, in decorative pools for koi at the hotel, on rocks under the artificial water-fall at the hotel, outside my hotel room, floating on the surface of the ponds, you get the picture. Still, it was floating on the water so I figured I'd get a sample.
Speaking of decorative ponds at the hotel, those things were completely invaded by submersed sagitteria. I asked the manager, and he said it was not a plant that had been planted in the pond. Made sense to me because it was growing in some places where no one would see it. It was pretty to see, but it disturbs me a bit that the plant could be rabidly spreading on its own. It was flowering a lot too.
Liverwort A
This was one of the liverworts growing on the cliff where it could be moistened by the spring. It has serrated edges and is very hard.
Liverwort B
Another liverwort from the spring-cliff. As you can see, this one has very massive thalli! It did not mat like the other mosses or liverworts, but would often be growing amongst them.
Liverwort C
Another liverwort from the spring-cliff. It has very compact growth with small, dark green, forking thalli. My first thought that it was a riccardia species?
Isn't this a pretty liverwort? NOT!! This is actually a fern! It just happens to have fronds less than half the size of my fingernail!
One of the very smallest ferns in the world. It is a species that only grows in Hawaii. This particular fern dries out pretty easily, so it only grows in parts of the islands with high humidity and often grows amongst mosses to help it conserve liquid. It is very easy to mistake this fern for a moss as it grows amongst them. There is quite a bit of it growing in the jungles by my house in Nuuanu though. I wonder if it can grow aquatically . . .
I emptied out one of my planted 10g tanks to make a viva-type set up for all the new bryophytes (and the fern). I tried to plant everything both above and below the water in different places. The fern I planted above water only under the water fall. I want to slowly assimilate it I guess. It's set up so that the filter out-flow pours over the emersed plants.
What type of lighting will give the best chance of success? The tank currently has medium, medium-low lighting. I could make it high lighting, but I'm not sure if that's best for the mosses/liverworts. Can someone give me a hint? I do have CO2 running in the water.
BTW-- I also ran accross "willow moss" at an LFs. For those curious Hawaii people, it's Pet's and Plants. Well, we all know how often "willow moss" is willow moss. Still, the moss definitely looks and feels different from any of the Taxiphylum or Vasicularia I've grown previously in my tanks. Here's some photos:
I tied it to the filter out-flow in my grow-out tank.
Well, here's to hoping that it actually is willow moss, and that at least some of the plants I brought back will make the adjustment to aquatic life. I hope you guys enjoy this post!
