Mosses and Lichens Along the November Trails
November hikes were across grassland benches, grassland hills, open forest slopes, and in montane forest areas. Wildflowers were long gone, with a few dried stalks still visible. Some perennial shrubs and forbs retained some color, but soon will be buried … Continue reading →
Through the Timber Hills
On a hike through the forests south of Kamloops on a November day, I made a number of observations along the way. A number of perennials were spotted and identififed by their leaves and their growth habits. There was bunchberry … Continue reading →
Crustose Lichens on Rocks
While hiking in the sagebrush grasslands I hiked around a series of rock outcrops to view some crustose lichens. Lichens are a result of symbiosis between a fungus and algae. The fungus provides structure/protection and the algae provide nutrients through … Continue reading →
Hoary Rock-Moss
Hoary rock-moss (Racomitrium lanuginosum) belongs to a group of mosses that collectively are known as rock-mosses. Almost all of them are found on very dry sites usually on rock outcrops and boulders or on talus slopes. Originally, they were a … Continue reading →
Blunt-leaved Bristle-Moss
On a recent hike to Wells Gray Park, we hike along the edge of a volcanic plateau that overlooks the Clearwater River. All along the trail were stands of birch, aspen, lodgepole pine, Douglas-fir, western redcedar, and the odd western … Continue reading →
Muehlenbeck’s Thread-Moss
Muehlenbeck’s thread-moss was formerly part of a large and difficult-to-identify group of mosses in the genus Bryum . Based on recent changes in the Flora of North America, this group has been split into several smaller groups and Muehlenbeck’s thread-moss … Continue reading →
Magnificent Leafy Moss
Magnificent leafy moss (Plagiomnium venustum) is a common moss in coastal British Columbia that I would often see growing on the trunks of trees in damp forests such as big leaf maple. It is a beautiful moss that is part … Continue reading →
Toothed Phascum Moss
Toothed phascum moss is a very small moss that is common in the grasslands around Kamloops. It’s scientific name use to be Phascum cuspidatum but it has recently been changed to Tortula acaulon. It’s a widespread species that is found in most … Continue reading →
Crustose Lichens
I was wandering around the Tranquille area the other week taking a few photos. Now that the snow had largely disappeared from south-facing slopes I was eager to photograph some of the mosses and lichens in the grasslands. Many of … Continue reading →
Green-Tongue Liverwort
Green-tongue liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) is a common, weedy species that is native to BC. You will frequently see it growing in wet areas often on exposed mineral soil. Common habitats include wet forests, streamside habitats as well as heavily disturbed … Continue reading →
Tumid Notchwort
Tumid notchwort (Lophozia ventricosa) is a common leafy liverwort that is common and grows on rock, humus and decayed wood. I usually find it most often on decayed wood in relatively moist and cool forest environments. It is one of … Continue reading →
Jagged Notchwort
One of the most attractive leafy liverworts is a fairly common species named jagged notchwort (Lophozia incisa). It frequently occurs on decayed logs in sheltered microsites in forests at high elevations or in climatically wetter areas near the coast or … Continue reading →
Candle Snuffer Mosses
Candle snuffer mosses are common in the dry grasslands of the Kamloops area. They are often found in early spring in small protected areas often on bare mineral soil out of the wind and somewhat sheltered from the sun. I … Continue reading →
Broom Fork-Moss
Broom fork-moss (Dicranum scoparium) is a very common species of moss that is widespread in BC from low-elevation forests to alpine areas. It is one of the most common mosses encountered in the forests around Kamloops. It forms relatively dense … Continue reading →
Mountain Pincushion
Mountain pincushion (Dicranoweisia crispula) is a very common moss usually found at higher elevations as small round cushions on boulders. When dry, the leaves are twisted and contorted. Mountain pincushion is very similar to the other species “Common Pincushion” that … Continue reading →
Moon-leaved Pincerwort
Moon-leaved pincerwort (Cephalozia lunulifola) is a common leafy liverwort that is found on well-decayed logs in the forest. It is a tiny plant that is about 1 mm wide that appears as green fuzz on well-decayed wood often near the … Continue reading →
Sack Starwort (Asterella saccata)
Sack Starwort (Asterella saccata) Fragrant Macewort (Mannia fragrans) This post was originally published in April 2019. At the time, I identified the specimen as Mannia fragrans based on the information I had available at the time. Recently, an Italian bryoplogist, Guido … Continue reading →
Steppe Mouse-moss
Steppe mouse-moss or coscinodon moss (Coscinodon calyptratus) is a widespread and common moss on rocks in dry open grasslands in the Kamloops area as well as dry hot habitats in the Southern Interior. It is absent on the coast and … Continue reading →
Tufted Thread Moss
Tufted thread moss (Bryum caespiticeum) is one of the most common mosses in BC. It is very common on disturbed soil where it produces small to large colonies of small shoots less than a centimeter tall surrounded by a clump … Continue reading →
Hatcher’s Leafy Wort
Hatcher’s leafy wort (Barbilophozia hatcheri) is a common leafy liverwort in British Columbia. It is similar to common leafy liverwort (Barbilophozia lycopodioides) and both are often found growing together. Both species have large four-lobed leaves arranged in two rows along … Continue reading →
Finger-Leaf Liverwort
Finger-leaf liverwort is a very unusual looking liverwort. Most liverworts either consist of a thallus, a flat green layer of tissue that lacks stems and leaves, or leafy liverworts, in which the single leaves, usually entire or with lobed margins, … Continue reading →
Common Leafy Liverwort
Common leafy liverwort is a large common liverwort found in higher elevation forests. It frequently occurs on a variety of substrates including coarse woody debris, the base of trees, and shaded rocks and boulders. Like most leafy liverworts, the leaves … Continue reading →
Fringed Hoar-Moss
On a recent trip to Penticton to meet up with a group of people interested in mosses and liverworts, I came across Hedwigia ciliata growing on a rock outcrop south of Penticton. Although it is not rare, it is an … Continue reading →
Glow Moss
Aulacomnium palustre On a walk along the ski trails at Stake Lake just after much of the snow had melted I was looking for things to photograph. In a moist forested area next to the trail I came upon a … Continue reading →
Fire-moss (…such a dumb name)
Ceratodon purpureus is one of the most widespread and common species in the world. Almost anywhere there is some kind of soil disturbance, you will find Ceratodon. Hence, that is why I don’t like the common name as it implies it is … Continue reading →
Thin Starwort
On a recent hike along the lower Stein River, I came across a small thallus liverwort growing in a crevice on a rock face. It is named Asterella gracilis. Instead of stems and leaves like those of mosses, the plant … Continue reading →
Aloe-moss
Aloina is a genus of mosses with three species in British Columbia. Although they are very tiny (and hard to photograph!), they are a very distinct group of mosses characterized by individual plants having a few tiny, thick, tongue-shaped, succulent … Continue reading →
Black Rock-Moss
Black rock-moss (Andreaea rupestris) may easily be confused for a crustose lichen. It forms brittle, crusty rusty red to blackish patches on exposed rock surfaces and look somewhat similar to many crustose lichens. But with closer examination, you can see … Continue reading →
Silver-Edge Pelt
Peltigera aphthosa Silver-edge pelt is a common and widespread lichen species in the forests of British Columbia. It is common in the Kamloops area in higher elevation Douglas-fir forests where it frequently occurs on the shaded forest floor. There … Continue reading →
Step Moss
Hylocomium splendens Step moss is one of the most well-known and widespread species of moss in British Columbia. It is one of the first “feather mosses” (large branching mosses that dominate the forest floor) that you will find as … Continue reading →
Frosted Rock Tripe Lichen
Umbilicaria americana Umbilicaria is a rather large genus of lichens usually found attached to rocks that consist of small rounded lobes that are attached at a single point to the rock by a holdfast. On a recent hike with … Continue reading →
Streamside Moss
Scouleria aquatica On a recent hike along the Stein River, some of the boulders that were adjacent to or partially submerged in the river had patches of this large, coarse, blackish green moss. The common name for this species is … Continue reading →
Rusty Cord-Moss
Entosthodon rubiginosus On a recent trip with the Kamloops Hiking Club we hiked through Painted Bluffs Provincial Park on the north side of Kamloops Lake – a surreal landscape of ridges and valleys devoid of vegetation with soils in various … Continue reading →
Sidewalk Moss
Tortula ruralis Sidewalk moss is one of the most common mosses in grasslands and dry forests in the Southern Interior. When moist it forms softe green clumps often with red and white highlights. When it is dry, it can … Continue reading →
Blistered Rock Tripe Lichen
Umbilicaria hyperborea This lichen is very common and is one of the most common species found on exposed bedrock. It consists of small scaly flaps of tissue in which each flap of tissue or thallus is attached to the bedrock … Continue reading →
False Polytrichum
On a walk out at Stake Lake I came across a rock face in a spruce forest that supported a wide variety of mosses and a few lichens. One of the more common species is false Polytrichum. It has the … Continue reading →