The lure of the liverwort

Super long hyaline moss hair points. On a boulder near you.

I may have told you before, but I. Really. Love. Moss. and I want you to love it too. Maybe you'll be more receptive when you hear I've recently, with virtually no strain, amassed 65 specimens. I mean it takes some effort to identify the things, obviously. But with mosses and liverworts you'll never be short of material. That has to be a good start.

Where have I found so many mosses? (I hear you ask). Well, nowhere exotic. I've been on a walk through an ancientish woodland (22), I've wandered around the campus (12), I've been on a field trip to a stream (5) and a park (13), and en route elsewhere I've squealed the car to a halt next to a lush and verdant drystone wall (9).  The secret is to look at different habitats - mine were on trees and on the earth, and on walls. So I've not even touched on grasslands or heathlands or watery places yet. Mosses aren't difficult to collect or carry, and they don't require any fancy preservation. So long as any companions don't mind you holding up proceedings every now and again, you can keep an eye out for them wherever you go.

Metzgeria liverwort

 If you like moss, you're going to love liverworts (I know you will). Look at the snakey, seaweedesque example above. It's only one cell thick! and it's a 'thallose' species, one without leaves but just a sort of branching strap shape tissue. Soo lovely. I found it down by the Frome. It was literally covering a wall and also on the tree trunks - everywhere, but too tiny for anyone to realise its structure (most would think it just looked like Green Stuff. But they don't know what they're missing).

Here's another liverwort, a leafy species this time. Look at the lovely way it's flattened and branching - and it has little 'underleaves' too (something that mosses don't run to). What's not to like? Liverworts often like soggier places than most mosses; this one was on a very damp wall.

If you're still wondering what to collect, I really do recommend this group. Make yourself some Moss Packets (see this page) and get going! If you want to see some of my specimens (and how I identified them) then you're most welcome to come to the lab - just send me an email to arrange a time.

Have you thought about letting Moss into your life?

Three species together on a boulder in the car park. Nice sporophytes eh.

 I've got my toe in now and I'm hoping you're too British in spirit to slam the door. Choosing moss may sound relatively unexciting, but maybe you've not given it a chance. It's possible I've accosted you on a field trip, forcing a lens into your hand (hold it right up to your eye... no, hold it RIGHT UP TO YOUR EYE...) If so, you may have seen that tiny things, when magnified, can be just as fascinating as things more your own size. What are you, scalist? It's these little things that underpin the ecological running of the world. Pandas are all very well but the planet probably won't collapse without them (I'm not heartless really, I'm just very pro-moss).

Not only is it interesting to see the world from a different perspective for a change, you'll find it's not that difficult to collect a good number of species if you're looking for a nice mark. I've just been for a little trot round campus in the unseasonably warm weather, clutching my camera. I think I've got about 10 species already. With trips to a wood, limestone walls, somewhere watery, etc., you could probably treble that without too much hardship. Different places yield different species - mosses can be used as indicator species. The fieldguide from the British Bryological Society has a list of habitats and the species you tend to find there. 

Some moss looking super twizzly and waiting to unfurl in the rain.

 Of course the problem is more identifying what you've found, rather than finding it, perhaps. This is going to be more of an issue. I want to make a guide to the ones you'll most likely encounter first, but I'm not sure how imminent this will be as other things keep getting in the way. If you do want to do moss, you'll have to want to spend some time at a microscope, jotting down little drawings, and having a go with the (not always so friendly) keys. But Dave and I can find some time to help.

Nice red stems, distinctively curved back leaves - heaps of it literally metres from my desk

You too may well find something interesting

Student B's exotic arachnid friend

This time last year I reported on an ex-taxonomic collectioner who had found a very rare and lovely lichen. You see, how many people are actually looking for these things? Not many. Most are watching ITV2 and playing games on their phones. And even the ones who are interested, are generally happy enough to leave their identification at "lichen" or maybe "some sort of Usnea lichen". But (unless it's really difficult to tell and drives you mad) there's much satisfaction to be had from being able to pin down the exact species.

This week, Student B brought in a cute little jumping spider (family Salticidae) which he'd found living somewhere at the zoo. There are 38 species in this country. But it wasn't any of those - it had very distinctive white pedipalps (which it was waving about) and lovely little spots on its abdomen. Not really knowing where to begin as there are a lot of jumping spiders in the world, we both asked on internet forums (I don't think this counts as cheating in this case). And it seems to be Hasarius adansoni, a common-enough creature in warmer parts of the world like Australia and Japan.

Come and use the lovely microscope camera with your finds- drop me an email.

I looked it up on the Spider and Harvestman Recording Scheme website, and they only have 3 records of it in this country (ever), so I am urging Student B to send in his sighting. Maybe it's living everywhere and nobody's noticed - but maybe it's not. Certainly nobody else has ever reported it from Bristol Zoo. So be encouraged - you really can add to the knowledge we have about the species in this country. You don't have to find anything so exotic of course - even reporting common species is important to provide data about how their numbers and distribution might be changing, or the times of the year that they're active. It's all useful and feeds into a bigger picture.


Meanwhile - I had word from an ex collector of bryophytes, Student H. She's currently on a Bog Conservation placement in the Pennines. She's become so enamoured with the mosses there, that she's set up her own Instagram moss page. How cool is that. It makes me feel very happy. Fluffy and feathered creatures already have a lot of supporters. You can make a difference for the more weird and wonderful plants and animals of this country.

The lovely Sphagnum fimbriatum, CC James Lindsay.

Photograph your specimens through the microscope

I sometimes think of myself as a bit of a Luddite eschewing modern technology (a student laughed at me on a field trip last year for actually using a paper map... I like to think he was sorry when his phone ran out of battery). But when it works I do like it really.

Today I finally got a microscope camera to talk to a computer. I won't bore you with the details because the important thing is that it now works and you can now come and use it. Getting the lighting right seems to be a fine art but I'm getting there. You can zoom in to the important features of your specimens, snap a photo, and then print it out and stick it in your notebook. I used it to identify two freshwater snails and I was very pleased.

They both came from a local pond lined with stone blocks (which apparently used to be where the local gentry washed their carriages - who knows). It didn't look like a very promising environment - it's pretty stagnant with more mud than water! But this actually made it a different sort of habitat to the usual ponds we visit - and so it turned up a species I'd not seen before.

You can see this species is very tightly coiled. It's only about 6mm across, and has 5+ whorls.

But also, it's very thin through - only about 1mm. I managed to hold the shell so you can see its aperture (which is pretty round).

So with these relatively few facts and a look at Collins 'Lakes, Rivers, Streams and Ponds', I identified it as Anisus leucostoma -  the White-lipped ramshorn snail. It doesn't care if the pond it's in dries up a bit: it can resist drought by staying in the mud. There's a similar looking species (Anisus vortex) but it's found in running water (and has an oval aperture) - so can be safely discounted I reckon.

For freshwater and terrestrial species I very much like the drawn illustrations in Janus's 'The Young Specialist Looks at Molluscs' (overlook the daft title) - it shows the shells from different angles (you can get a secondhand copy for about £5, or you're welcome to look at mine). The names can be out of date but that's relatively easily sorted (I might make a list to share).

The other species (in fact the only other thing alive it seemed) was a dextral snail (meaning its aperture is on the right if you hold it upright towards you). You can see the aperture is huge compared to the rest of the shell - it's about 3/4 the height. There's a little dichotomous key to Lymnaea (pond snails) in 'LRSP' - if you follow that (and look at the angle at the top of the aperture) you'll conclude this species is Radix peregra, the romantically-named Wandering snail.

I'm sure with a bit more experience with the lighting (and a bit of fiddling with Photoshop) you could make your photos even clearer. These snails were wet and I probably should have dried them to help with reflections and focusing. But I hope this encourages you that tiny things can be photographed fairly clearly. (You can also have a go down the microscope with your phone, with a steady hand).

Also on the subject of snails, did you know that because their shells are so persistent, they're used by archaeologists and people interested in past climates to work out what environments used to be like? You can see here that freshwater snails have been grouped according to their taste in habitat, so if they're uncovered hundreds of years later you can infer what it must have been like where they were living. My Ramshorn snail is in the (quite rudely titled) 'slum' category. One man's slum is another man's perfectly adequate muddy pond, thankyou. Also, 'catholic' doesn't refer to the snails' religious beliefs, but that they have wide-ranging habitat tastes.

 from Brown (2001) with updated names

So if you're collecting snails - or anything - the moral of the story is to look in a variety of habitats, and then you will find a wider range of species.

I love liverworts

I think myself very lucky to live in the country. Yes, it may have a few downsides (few places will deliver you a takeaway, it costs a fortune to get a taxi from town, and popping out for a loaf of bread requires an expedition) but the benefits to my mental well-being outweigh these things massively. I really appreciate having the natural world on my doorstep and being able to go for an impromptu walk to put things into perspective. If you're feeling aggravated about something, it gives you many other things to concentrate on, and you realise that neither you nor the sources of your stress are the centre of the universe.

I went for a walk yesterday. Naturally I took a pot (never be without your pot). I had mosses and liverworts in mind. There are lots of mosses that grow on the drystone walls around where I live, but I had a different habitat in mind: the stubble-filled fields. And I was delighted to find my quarry: a Riccia liverwort.

Just look at it, it's so sweet. Ok, so you're probably thinking I'm really losing the plot now. But see how small and delightfully formed it is. Who would even suspect such a strange and neatly branching plant growing in a field at all.

Lots of liverworts look a bit like mosses - they're called 'leafy liverworts'. But Riccia is a 'thallose liverwort' - it doesn't have leaves but a thallus (a flattish sheet of cells). You might be familiar with the thallose Marchantia if you've ever looked at liverworts before. But I appreciate that most people haven't looked at liverworts before and are barely (if at all) aware of their existence. Oh how they're missing out.

I have found a very good explanation of everything liverworty on the pages of the Australian National Botanic Gardens. They even mention Riccias on this page so you can read all about how they grow and reproduce. As you might suspect from their appearance in the field, they are experts at opportunistically growing on freshly exposed soil when conditions get a bit wetter.

Those ANBG pages are also an excellent introduction to the other bryophytes: mosses and hornworts (although of course their examples are largely antipodean). If liverworts are relatively unknown (to normal people) compared to mosses, then hornworts are super obscure. A couple of years ago I went on an FSC bryophytes course and we spent one afternoon literally crawling around a field (luckily we were well away from a road where anyone could see us) - and I was super chuffed to find a hornwort. There were also many Riccias which is why I thought to check my local field yesterday. In fact there's a whole book about Arable Bryophytes written by Ron Porley (I feel a purchase coming on).

If you're thinking of choosing mosses and liverworts (and I do recommend them if you like looking at the detail of lovely and tiny things) then a nice Riccia would be a good addition to your collection. Because they like to leap in when arable fields are cut, this is the ideal time of year to look. But there are many reasonably easily identified large mosses you can find in more urban areas too.

A pre-1850 Gould microscope (CC Wellcome Images)

A useful aside: Student K just popped in with her mushrooms and we viewed a couple through a dissecting microscope. Much oohing was heard over the super details revealed. Dave then showed us how our microscope camera can Bluetooth an image to your phone. You can also get a decent image by holding your phone over the eyepiece. So don't forget this as an option for illustrating your notebook - feel free to bring in your specimens of all kinds.

Your new skills can help make a difference

A lot of moths visiting a trap in Brunei, 1982. CC image Accassidy.

The other afternoon I was listening to Inside Science on Radio 4, and they had a piece about 'moth snowstorms'. That is, people were remembering when they would drive along in the countryside at night, and moths would be flying in from all angles into their headlights, and they'd have to start their windscreen wipers. It's certainly not something I've experienced in my lifetime. In fact it seems quite a mad idea, even though it must have been unremarkable not so long ago. Something that did ring a bell was motorcyclists saying they used to have to stop regularly and clean their visors of squashed flies. I can remember (in the 90s) saying to my dad that my friend's car was covered in gummy dead insects, and him complaining that it must have meant we were driving too fast. Some people suggest cars might be more aerodynamic these days, which might account for why gummy insects don't seem to be a problem. But that doesn't explain the visor thing - there'd still be insects on visors.

My point is, we seem to be losing insects, fast. Data from amateur entomologists' malaise traps suggest a loss of 75% in the last 25 years. I don't need to tell you that sounds pretty terrifying, when insects are a fundamental part of the food chain and pollinate a lot of plants (including our food plants). It was astoundingly refreshing to hear that the alleged environment minster, Michael Gove, has actually come round to the idea that neonicotinoid pesticides need stricter controls. One can only hope it's not shutting the door after the horse has bolted. You'd imagine spraying pesticides all over fields can't have helped matters, in addition to problems caused by other modern farming methods. So perhaps stopping spraying them might help restore some of the invertebrate populations.

A malaise trap. CC image Ceuthophilus. Nothing to do with uneasy-feeling malaise (though that may be for the insects), but actually invented by the Swedish Mr. Malaise in the 1930s.

Whilst this sounds like environmental doom and gloom (which yes, it probably is) - you have chosen this degree course so presumably want to try to make the world a better place. You can be part of the antidote to your own gloom. By developing your identification skills and submitting records to recording schemes and records centres, you can help make some difference. Your data can feed into a big picture which can persuade the powers that be to actually do something. This might not be a straightforward process because it involves politics. But having the scientific evidence has to be of critical importance, surely.

You might think "ah, what difference can I make? :( " But there really aren't that many people out there who have good identification skills. Particularly if you focus on something even slightly obscure. If you chose to go to a local habitat and record what you find, it's possible that nobody would have done that for ten, twenty years (or even ever). You might find something Really Interesting, and conceivably that could help get the site a modicum of protection one day. And even if you don't, it all becomes part of valuable data about today, and can be compared with what happens in future, and if records exist, with what was present in the past. (iRecord is an easy way to submit a record of anything you find, but if you prefer the support of a specialist scheme, the Biological Records Centre has a comprehensive list of contacts.)

Student A's lovely lichen find. CC image Jason Hollinger (California)

The other day, one of the third years popped in to see me. She chose lichens for her collection last year and got really into them. She'd been out lichen-hunting recently. When she got home and looked in her 'Dobson' guide, one of them seemed to be something unusual. The only species that seemed to match was a distinctive orange-grey lichen with little eyelashy spines around the fruiting bodies. But Dobson said it had only been seen in very few areas and was now thought extinct in this country. She had a tiny sample and we both squinted at it down the microscope. Nothing else seemed to match. I said I thought she should speak to David Hill, my esteemed lichen tutor from my course.

It turns out she was right with her identification and he was "super excited". Isn't that amazing! So this is proof that you too can find and report something excellent. She's brought something back from apparent extinction. I guess the poor lichen was never quite extinct in the first place (though it's evidently very rare) - but the point is, how many people are looking at lichens, and how many people have the skill to identify them? Not many. So your developing skills can make an impact. You can be one of an elite group that is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about lichens, beetles, mosses, or whatever it is that grabs you. We can only conserve things when we know they exist. You will be able to contribute to the body of knowledge of what's out there. Be encouraged.

There are links to over 200 recording schemes at the NBN Gateway.

For your Christmas list*: a hand lens

(*Other popular religious and secular present-buying opportunities are available. Or just treat yourself.)

I've just been to Dartmoor with the new first years. Likely you went on this trip yourself and will be able to recall the amazing Wistman's Wood, an eldritch botanical wonderland dripping with lichens and mosses. I think it's one of my favourite places.

CC image by Alex Jane

Students are obliged to spend some time collecting data about un-botanical things like wind speed. But whenever possible I tried to lure them towards close examination of the weird and diverse species covering the trees and boulders. A few people looked like they got seriously hooked, which was very gratifying. And I think the secret to an appreciation of lichens and bryophytes is a simple thing: a hand lens.

I wish I could present one to everybody but it seems university bean-counters are not keen. I can always lend you one (quality and smeariness varies). But ultimately I would urge you to consider getting one yourself. It doesn't have to cost much and it will last you a lifetime. Plus you will always have it to hand if it just lives in your bag. And you won't have any slight squeamishness about holding it right up to your eye after a dozen other people have had it in their clammy hands. Seriously, it will open up a entire microscopic world that you cannot really predict. I'd say it makes Everything more interesting - the unsuspected detail of plants and invertebrates and all sorts. But in the short term it'll certainly make your collecting a more interesting experience and make it easier to identify what you're looking at.

Like I say a million times, 'Hold it right up to your eye'. CC image from the National Park Service.

But what to get? Magnification of x10 is fine for most things. You can get twin versions which have (say) a x10 at one end and a x15 at the other if you're feeling fancy. Another thing to consider is the diameter. My lens is about 15mm across. Larger diameters are recommended.  I thought I was quite happy with mine but now I'm starting to wonder if a larger diameter wouldn't be better - it transmits more light and makes things easier to see.

You do want something that's of good enough quality that it's not going to annoy you with its blurry pointlessness. You don't necessarily have to spend huge amounts though.

This Quicktest page shows you how different lenses vary in quality (which is quite eye-opening) and therefore in price. They have a large range for sale and they make it very clear what you're getting. There are also many other reliable places, like the local company Brunel Microscopes, or UKGE, or entomological suppliers like Watkins and Doncaster,

 This is the one I have at the moment, from Quicktest, which is about £30 with delivery. It has a slightly larger size than most, so lets in a bit more light, and seems super clear - I'm really pleased with it. But you don't have to go that mad - something about £15 can be pretty decent, judging by the advice linked to above. Cheaper ones are a good way in but they're necessarily blurrier and more likely to fall apart. I bought a load of half-decent ones for work last year, but they're extremely pocketable and disappear constantly. This is disappointing and makes me loathe to spend as much again - but then spending less is a false economy if the lenses are rubbish. So if you're even half keen it's a good reason to get your own and look after it - it should last a lifetime if you don't lose it!

I'd also recommend getting a lovely bright lanyard to attach to it. Then it's much easier to find if you put it down somewhere or it falls into the vegetation. There's a huge selection on Ebay, for example. If you wear your lens round your neck you will recognise and be recognised by other natural history buffs, like some sort of weird masonic tie / handshake. This is not necessarily a bad thing: you might meet someone knowledgeable and interesting. Nerdy, probably. But nerdy about something interesting.

Public domain image by Bill Gillette - girl on a fieldtrip in the Rockies, 1972

A useful thought I read recently - when you're using it, think of it as a keyhole. That is, you must put your eye right up to it to see through. Either bring the object you're looking at towards your eye, or (often more undignified but unavoidable) bring yourself close to the object. The latter is why you might see lichen enthusiasts sprawled across the landscape, bums in air, apparently pressing their faces against the rocks.

And finally, it's possible to integrate this low-tech highly-useful bit of equipment with modern technology: with a bit of practice you can take photos through it with your mobile phone. And those would be perfect stuck in your notebook.

(P.s. - What's more, a lens will repay you handsomely on the field trip to Tenerife, where there are many fascinating plants with strange adaptations to examine microscopically. I much recommend getting one in readiness for that).

2016/17 collections: mosses and liverworts

It pleases me to tell you that record numbers of people chose to collect bryophytes last year. By record numbers, I mean five. But I think mosses and liverworts are lovely, and it was very nice to spend time with fellow appreciators. What's more, the students all got good marks (two high 2:1s and three firsts).

You may not think envelopes in a box is a particularly inspiring display, but it's traditional, easy to label and put in family order, keeps everything in its place and stops things going mouldy. Plus, it gets good marks. This one was in the mid 70s. Its standardised labels (albeit untyped) containing lots of information were praised. The student also gained marks for the number of specimens collected, the 'excellent identification' and the effort that had been made in finding species from a range of families and habitats / locations.

Here's a page from the same student's field diary, which was said to include 'good detail.. good use of maps and sketches...'.

The feedback for the moss monographs highlight something that can be applied to any group - that amongst general information there should be some reference (with technical details) to the range of specimens that you yourself have collected.

Don't be thinking that mosses will automatically get a good mark - they require concerted effort. But if you're willing to put some effort in, at least they're relatively easy to find and transport. They're good for people that like something fiddly but haven't the finesse not to break off beetle legs and moth antennae (I'm talking about myself here).

Identification thoughts

A lichen from yesterday, Hypogymnia physodes, and its weird inflated catpaw lobes. CC image James Lindsey.

I had a nice afternoon yesterday with student T and her extensive lichen collection. We were using a combination of guides and keys and a bit of my prior familiarity with their appearance. It made me think of two things. Firstly, that it's always a good idea to use more than one source of identification. I do love the FSC but even they can't squash everything onto a fold-out guide - lichens are great when they look like they're supposed to, but sometimes they just don't. You might think that's because they're a totally different species and I just can't identify them. But it's not always that. It's because many of them are annoyingly variable. If you went on KL's lichen jaunt around campus the other week, you'll have seen my attempt to make a guide that includes half-eaten lichens as well as pristine ones. It's not even nibbling that's the main problem though - sometimes the lichens look different just because of varying conditions where they're growing (or possibly they do it just because they feel like it, who knows). So, point one, whatever you're collecting, it helps to have a variety of (reliable) descriptions and photos. Hopefully I've given you a few options for your own group in this blog, but I'll keep looking.

Secondly, lots of people have limited transport, so only collect their lichens where they can get to around Bristol. This has the effect of making me look cleverer than I am, because the species they turn up with are generally on a relatively limited list. Nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants limit which can live in the city. So point two, if you can obtain an idea of what you're expecting, it can help. For lichens, the FSC fold-out guides are habitat based (eg urban, heaths, seaside) which is great. And when we were doing the mosses the other day, there were lists at the back of the book for different habitats (it's also online). This is useful as an additional identification strategy (especially with groups where there are many many species in this country).

Success with mosses

mmm a Riccia liverwort. image by Show_ryu

It was extremely gratifying to see three keen new bryologists in the lab yesterday. They managed to concentrate for virtually four hours solid; it was a superb effort. They even let slip that they were enjoying themselves.

Between them they probably identified about half a dozen species, which is just excellent going for anyone, let alone a first-time attempt. There is certainly no shortage of specimens on campus to try. We examined specimens from lawns, on walls, and on trees - different habitats = different species.

We were using a combination of the BBS field key and 'Watson'. You're supposed to be able to use the field key just with a hand lens. But it's so much more interesting to be able to put the mosses and liverworts under a dissecting microscope. Sometimes the key did let us down a bit (perhaps due to our interpretation of the couplets, to be charitable). But sometimes with bryophytes you do have to admit defeat, at least temporarily.

So if you think this could be your thing, do come in and try. Or you can start off anywhere with a downloaded field key and a lens.

This is one of yesterday's discoveries - Syntrichia ruralis - with its hyaline (colourless) hair points and starry shape.

CC image by HermannSchachner

 Some very keen and thorough people at CEH/CCW compiled this document to list the attributes of British and Irish mosses, liverworts and hornworts. 'BRYOATT' has an enormous table describing the species' status, life history, habitat preferences and other traits. Here's the entry for S. ruralis.

It looks a tad overwhelming, but if you know what the codes stand for, you might be able to make some useful remarks about the species you've found. In the top right corner there are 'Ellenberg values' for L, F, R, N and S. These refer to the moss's preferred habitat: L (light) is 8 (on a scale of 0 to 9) - so this species definitely prefers well lit areas. The F value refers to how dry or damp it is where it grows: this is only 3 (on a scale from 1 to 12) and so it's an indicator of dry sites. 'R' is a measure of the acidity/alkality of its preferred substrate: at 7 (on a scale of 1 to 9) S. ruralis definitely prefers strongly basic conditions. N is 4, right in the middle of the scale from 1 to 7  which shows you how fertile (in terms of nitrogen) the site must be. And S is for salt tolerance: with a value of 0 this species is not going to be found near the coast (species on saltmarshes score a maximum of 5). HM is for heavy metals: some bryophytes are confined to spots that have high concentrations of these, believe it or not. But our species scores 0 (like almost 90% of others) because it can't tolerate such conditions.

I think it's rather interesting - and if you visit different habitats you'll see if your mosses are particularly indicative of those conditions.  Just a little thing if you fancy something extra for your notebook.

Mmm liverworts

I'm part way through an MSc (this one in Biological Recording at MMU) and this year I have to devise and carry out some fieldwork for a dissertation. I'm veering towards mosses and liverworts as I do like them very much (and they have the advantage of being present whatever the season). So whilst on one of our regular Drawing Tours with my sister we stopped at a potential survey site this weekend, a spring at Doulting (near Shepton Mallet in Somerset).

St Aldhelm's Well (CC image by Kerryn)

The water was fantastically clear and cold where it came out of the hillside (the photo above). Then the water ran mellifluously into and out of a stone trough, and down through a grating to run under the road. The stones and walls were smothered in mosses and liverworts. I took some samples which  I will try to identify (when I have a minute, and I'll try to show you how I'm doing it). Some of the liverworts were huge and thallose - I'm sure anyone would have been enamoured with them. They looked rather like this, branching across the surfaces:

CC image by Jason Holinger

Incidentally I had an extremely interesting morning yesterday as I accompanied some students on a tour of Bristol Botanic Garden (the glasshouses there had their fair share of liverworts too). I urge you to go as it's actually free if you're a student, and it's fascinating as it's laid out along the latest phylogenetic understanding of the plant world (this is very unusual as Botanic Gardens are usually venerable institutions and switching things round is a pain, but they moved site relatively recently and were able to take advantage of it).

Anyway it was interesting to take a route along the course of plant evolution, and discover how bryophytes and other groups developed in a much warmer wetter era of Earth's history. Plants only evolved seeds when the climate became drier, when reproduction using swimming sperm (for liverworts do have swimming sperm) became more difficult. That was the change from the Carboniferous to the Permian. I could go on... But I won't, I'll just recommend a trip to the Garden.

General thoughts on collecting

Finnish entomologist Johan Sahlberg and his botanist wife Mimmi, just before they left on their honeymoon field-trip in 1873. Photograph by Antero Saalas.

 The Legal bit: Technically, you should only collect where you've been given permission by the landowner. Realistically, if you collect a sprig of grass from a roadside, no-one is likely to demand you are thrown in jail. But bear it in mind that under the Wildlife and Countryside Act, it is illegal to uproot any wild plant without permission from the landowner. 'Plant' includes algae, lichens, mosses, fungi and vascular plants. You don't need to uproot anything of course, just take parts of it. If you haven't got permission to be on someone land, you shoud confine yourself to public land and footpaths, or else you could get in trouble for trespassing, and that's before you've picked a thing. It doesn't hurt to be following the Countryside Code in general.

It is quite complicated in law, because there's no single law that covers such things. You do have some rights as a 'forager' which have built up around collecting plants for food. The British Mycological Society have some sensible advice regarding picking fungi but you'll find there's increasing worries about people collecting large amounts of mushrooms and then selling them to fancy restaurants (selling things on is not really in the spirit of traditional foraging).

Also, it is very tempting to want to go to a nature reserve to collect - after all, that's surely where all the nature is? Actually, you'll find you can collect a remarkable number of species from uncontroversial places. If you really do want to collect at a nature reserve, you should ask first. In my experience they may give permission - just contact the relevant Wildlife Trust (etc.) and explain you are doing a taxonomic collection for university and only want a specimen or two of common species. Reassure them that you will not be digging anything up, least of all their rare species. Always take the minimum amount of material necessary wherever you are.  

 There's more advice in the Wildflower Society code of conduct. You might also want to read the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland's code of conduct. It encouragingly says "Collecting small amounts of plant material for identification purposes, for private herbaria, for research or as voucher specimens is usually acceptable, except in the case of protected or Red List species. Indeed, collecting is often necessary if botanical expertise is to be developed."

 The Amateur Entomologists Society has similar advice concerning invertebrates. Although I feel pangs of guilt killing them, the main threat to species in this country is habitat loss. The code points out that "collecting should always be limited to the minimum necessary for the purpose intended, as well as by full compliance with legal requirements relating to particular sites and species."   

It is rather unlikely you'll come across rare species (the clue being in the name). Surprisingly, very few are specifically protected by law. Obviously, if you're in a reserve where one exists, you should make yourself aware of its appearance and avoid collecting any.

In short, use common sense and all will be well. Stick to public places and no-one will threaten you with a shotgun. Develop a casual demeanour and learn to shrug off the strange looks the public will doubtless throw you. Never be without a plastic bag or collecting pot. The latter is the best bit of advice I can give you :)

 

The Health and Safety bit: 

If you look at the course guidance on Blackboard, you will see that before going out collecting it requires you to send a risk assessment to Katy. This is not so onerous, as there is a generic version on Blackboard - you just need to go through it and remove anything irrelevant to your own situation, and perhaps add in anything extra. 

For example, you can delete any of the chemicals you won't be using for preservation. You've survived this long so presumably you are good at common sense - but here's a recap anyway-

Take someone with you (it's more fun, besides).
 Let someone know where you're going and when you ought to be back (a map and a phone are useful too).
Especially if you're like me, take a snack and something to drink so you don't pass out in a ditch.
Take your medicine with you if you suffer from some life-threatening illness (now I feel like I'm talking to my mother).
Take some sensible clothing and footwear with you (and now I am turning into my mother).

Fill in your details on the form - send a copy to Katy and keep a copy for yourself.
Then you can go forth and start collecting.

Identifying mosses and liverworts

Mosses can seem daunting to identify - and some mosses are definitely harder than others. However, some can be quite distinctive, and there are common species which can provide success and encouragement. (Some mosses have stupidly small leaves and should be put somewhere safe for when you're feeling more bryologically confident).

The FSC (in fact, specifically Martin Godfrey, my erstwhile Moss Tutor) has produced a little fold-out photo guide to mosses and liverworts of towns and gardens. It's only £3.30 so won't break the bank. The photos are really good as they capture the different forms of these common species rather well. It would be an excellent start to get your eye in (although I am obliged to say that you should still examine your finds under a microscope for certainty and the sheer pleasure of it).

You should also check out the British Bryological Society's website, where you can download for free the field key from their recent (lavishly illustrated) fieldguide. There are also links to all the species descriptions and photos from the book. I have a hard copy you can look at - as a budding bryologist you might eventually like to order one from here. I've had some success using this in the field and I do recommend it, although the number of species is rather off-putting to the beginner, and the binding is so flimsy that mine's fallen apart already. And I'm sure there are some issues with some parts of the key. But it's certainly worth trying as the key is supposed to work with just a hand lens.

So, the above field guide is very nice and glossy, but sometimes its lack of detailed illustrations leaves you wondering whether you could really ever know whether your identification is right - at which point Dave M and I always like to turn to one of the Moss Classics, E V Watson's 'British Mosses and Liverworts'. We have a couple of copies of this and there are a couple in the library. It was first written in 1955 and revised twice - but it's still really useful (though you may need to look up the most recent species names). It has lots of clear drawings of what you'd see under a light microscope (the cell structure of moss leaves is very diagnostic, and may I say lovely). If you want, you can get a second-hand copy reasonably cheaply. You are very welcome to come to the field centre and use our copies along with the microscopes.

The hard core might also turn to A J E Smith's ' The Moss Flora of Britain and Ireland' - we have a copy of this too, but it makes my head hurt.

PD image by Terrific

There are some habitat-specific resources you could try - there's a booklet you can print showing 'Mosses and Liverworts of Town and Garden' on the BBS website, and we have a book called 'Mosses and Liverworts of Woodland' (by Alan Perry). These describe whole plants, which can be a useful way in, but for this assignment you need to prove you're doing more than just matching pictures with your specimen. So you're going to have to face one of the keys above at some point.

At first it can be tricky to even work out which features you're supposed to be looking at (and there's a certain amount of terminology - though the BBS guide does try to limit this) - so do seek our help if you'd like.

Here's some information on collecting and labelling them.

Moss collecting, packets and labelling

Chloroplasts in Plagiomnium moss cells. CC image by Fabelfroh

Technically, the normal advice about collecting applies - that you should have permission from the landowner. Realistically, they would probably look at you askance (though they're unlikely to say no, especially when you explain you are only after a little sample in the interests of science). But you really should ask if you want to collect at protected sites like nature reserves. However, the advantage of mosses is that there are many specimens to be found by foraging in public places - they're everywhere. The more habitats you look in, the larger the number of species you'll find. So try the tops of walls, between the cracks of pavements, in springs and at the sides of streams, in woodland, on heaths and in bogs, in lawns... there are many options even in the city. My car's not quite so bad, but one of my colleagues once brought me a specimen that was growing at the edge of his windscreen.

How to make packets for your specimens.

Before you go out collecting, you'll want to make some moss packets. I find you can't underestimate how many moss packets you'll want! Once you get your eye in you'll probably see a lot more species than you expect. I usually get confused at the variety, and because their features are so small, it's not always obvious in the field whether two specimens are different. So if in doubt, take a little sample of both. Also, you are bound to get stumped on identifying a few of them, so having more than you eventually intend to end up with is not a bad thing.

You can make your collecting moss packets from scrap paper. If the mosses are a bit damp, the paper will soak it up - it's better than using plastic bags. When you get home, open the packets for a while so they dry out (you don't want your specimens to go mouldy).

When I go collecting I keep my left pocket for empty packets and my right pocket for full packets... perhaps I'm easily confused but I find this a useful method. It doesn't stop me losing my pencil every five minutes. A pencil is better than a pen for writing on a damp packet.

Naturally you need to know where you got each moss. Rather than writing notes on soggy paper you're probably better off sticking just a number on the packet, and writing all the attendant details in your field notebook as you go along. Where are you on the map? What's the moss living on? Is it in damp shade or braving it out on a sunny wall top? What's growing round about? 

How much of each moss should you take? You need a tuft to a matchboxful.. not just a few threads, but don't go devastating a population. Obviously, don't take all of it if there's only a small amount! The BSBI code of conduct reassures you that "collecting small amounts of plant material for identification purposes, for private herbaria, for research or as voucher specimens is usually acceptable... indeed collecting is often necessary if botanical expertise is to be developed."

It's worth noting whether your sample comes from a cushiony mound or a straggling mat - different species have different forms and it'll help in your identification.  The capsules on their stalks (the sporophytes) can be very diagnostic, so if your moss has those, include some. Most mosses and liverworts can be easily removed from their substrate with your fingers. Ones on stone might sometimes benefit from a bit more persuasion - though more because it can be difficult to lever them off without breaking them, rather than because they're clinging on so tightly.

A moss sporophyte capsule. CC image by Des Callaghan.

When you examine the contents of your packets closely, you might find that what you thought was one species is actually a collection of several - a bonus.

When you've identified your specimens you'll want to put them in a nice new packet for presentation.
Traditionally this is the method bryologists use - the packets sit nicely behind each other in a narrow box, and you can order them taxonomically. If you want to be innovative that's honestly fine, though you will have to confront the combined weight of many many decades of bryologists and their beloved packets. Maybe it's time for something more creative though. It is the 21st century after all, and if you can present them more attractively you may pull in more people to be bryologists. You never know.

This is how I was taught to label them:

You can see I've got who collected and identified it in the top left corner.

The what of the Latin name is in the centre. You don't have to put the authority after it, but it's easy to find it out on the Natural History Museum's Dictionary of UK Species., where you can check you've got the most up-to-date name too.

In the top right hand corner is a number (starting M for mosses or L for liverworts) - again you might think this is overkill but if you want to use it, it's the official checklist number that the British Bryological Society use. You can download the spreadsheet from this page.

I've also added the Order because that would help me arrange my species taxonomically in their box.

On the bottom left you have the when  of the date it was collected.

In the bottom right corner is the where.

You can also add a note about the habitat or substrate, as I've done in the centre.

A Japanese moss garden. Very neat. CC image by Paul Mannix