Overview:
Mosses are types of small plants that grow close to the ground. They require large amounts of water to live, as they have no structures to store and transport water. Some forms of mosses, such as peat moss, are important commercially.
What Are Mosses?
Typical mosses are very small plants, usually between 1 and 10 centimeters long. They do not have flowers or seeds, and germinate from spores. They usually consist of small, spiky leaves around a short, thin stem, and cover the surfaces they grow upon with a spongy mat.
Where Do Mosses Grow?
Mosses grow typically in cool, moist places, such as forest floors in rainy and humid areas, covering rocks, on trees, and fallen logs. Although mosses often grow on tree bark, they are not parasitic to the tree. They grow close together, forming thick mats that prepare the soil for other types of plants. Their short, thin stems are tipped by leaves that are not specialized for gathering water, so they grow best in areas where water can be collected. Since they are plants, they produce their own energy by photosynthesis, but they do not survive in dry areas.
What Is the Life Cycle of Mosses?
Mosses have two parts to their life cycle. They develop from spores when the environment is warm and moist enough. The spores germinate, attach themselves to a location, and carry out photosynthesis. Small shoots can develop into a clump of moss with stems and leaves. In the next phase, egg cells and sperm cells, sometimes from the same plant, but often from two separate plants, combine. Spores develop, mature, and are usually released into the wind, to begin the cycle again.
Why Are Mosses Important?
Mosses are important to other forms of plant life because they help to prepare soil by breaking down rocks to create topsoil. Forms of sphagnum moss are commercially important as peat moss, used as fuel traditionally in many parts of the world such as Ireland and other northern countries. In addition, some forms of peat were compressed as the source of some types of coal.
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