The Forestry Forum
General Forestry => Forest Education => Topic started by: SwampDonkey on August 21, 2004, 02:33:48 PM
Schreber's feather moss is an indicator of heavy metal deposition and used in locating heavy metal pollution sources.
Click Here for more info (http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/moss/pleuroziumsch.html)
Its quite common in our old growth cedar stands and I found out just how flamable this moss is in dry spring conditions. No I didn't set the place on fire but a spark flew about 20 feet from a bomb fire and ignited that stuff like ........well , wild fire. ;)
cheers
Indians were known to carry dried moss in small leather bags for firestarters. So, I imagine it goes up well.
This looks/ sounds similar to "sphagnum moss"??
no sphagnum grows in a dense thick carpet on bogs and really wet ground. Its what breaks down/decays and forms peat. It is in different colors: yellow, green, orange, red. Up on the Gaspe, QC and northern NB there are large peat harvest operations. Peat also forms coal over pressure and eons of time. Shrebers is similar to stairstep moss as the stem is crooked and the carpet is not dense and wet. Another moss associated with this group is feather moss.
Moss VS Peat (http://www.ext.vt.edu/departments/envirohort/articles/misc/sphagnum.html)
Potential Fungal Infection from sphagnum moss (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/county/smith/tips/misc/moss.html)
Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (http://www.peatmoss.com/)
Information (http://www.ipcc.ie/infosphagnum.html)
The link above suggests it endangered, but I don't think you have to worry, since there are 100's of millions of acres of it in Canada. ;) I only posted it so you can see some pictures of it and its structure.
Stair-step moss (http://www.borealforest.org/lichens/lichen7.htm) not a very good picture :(
Can't find a decent feather moss picture either.
VERY interesting!! I've got alot of sphagnum moss -acres...
Another potentialy harmful plant!! Guess I won't be rolling around in that stuff ;D I always wanted to see a peat harvest. I think it's fascinating that over time-lots-, it turns to coal.