mossy tree

Green moss is bursting through the brown of winter

/ Cabin Life, Connections, Nature / By
moss on tree
A moss tree skirt and some wild vines.
mossy log
Moss forming on the end of a log.
moss on tree
A moss tree skirt and moss following along the exposed roots.
moss
This could be moss, lichen or a combination.
underside of moss
A rare peek at the underside of moss (I found it this way. I'm not a moss killer).
moss in woods
Mossy natural steps (tempting, but I try to avoid walking on it).
mossy tree
Tree covered in moss. She wore a green Louis Vuitton slip dress.
mossy rocks
Boulders covered in moss and lichen.
mossy tree
A mossy tree with a hollow underneath, hanging onto a creek wall.
moss on rock
A mossy island.
mossy log
A salad bar for deer with mushroom, lichen and moss.
mossy rocks
Large rock slabs covered in moss near a downed tree (note the earth and rocks it took up with it).

I am a first generation American of mixed descent and as March and St.Patrick’s Day approach, my thoughts turn to the Irish part of my heritage.  Although I’ve never been, when I walk in the woods and encounter the rich, green mossy parts, I often think of Ireland. Today was particularly foggy, drizzling a bit and the many shades of green moss were full of life and welcoming in the misty woods.

Formerly having lived in Florida for decades, I am still stunned by the more dramatic seasonal wheel turning in the Ozarks.  Mosses that shrink back and fade in our mostly mild winters are making a vibrant comeback with the steady rain and rising temperatures.

According to an article by Bill Graham on the Missouri Department of Conservation’s website, Missouri hosts, “more than 500 species of lichens and more than 300 species of mosses.”  I have seen many in a single walk and have even confused the two. While lichen is a combination of a fungus and alga, moss is a plant.

We have spots on trails that are carpeted in the soft, green pleurocarps (carpet moss). I have also seen the fluffy, green growth around the bases of trees (Anomodon attenuatus or more commonly called, tree apron moss or tree skirt moss).  I thought I was seeing small fern plants growing among the mosses, but there is a fern moss as well.

Tapestries of various shades of green climb up trees and over rocks, often with a brighter, whitish-green lichen colony.  Both mosses and lichens are used by environmentalists to gauge air pollution and heavy metal deposits in an area.  Moss helps create soil, house insects, and gets used by birds for nesting material. In Japan, moss gardens are cultivated and several books are available on moss gardening. Lichen is eaten by many forest animals, including deer.

When I was growing up in the countryside of New York, I was told that if I got lost in the woods, to look for the moss on the north side of a tree to get my bearings. It was powerful to think I had a hack if I got turned around, but this trick does not pan out. While it may not lead me home, it’s a familiar comfort, ancestral or not, to see the soft green plant spreading in so many spots, brightening the brown and grey of winter.