Question: Recently, while attempting to identify a moss (Deer Island, Amesbury), I have seen that this group seems not to have …
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Question
Recently, while attempting to identify a moss (Deer Island, Amesbury), I have seen that this group seems not to have been included, while ferns and their allies are. Is there a reason for this, and if Go Botany does not cover mosses, might it be helpful if other useful sources were referenced?
Answer
Dear chaffeemonell, mosses (part of the bryophytes group), are not tracheophytes (vascular plants with specialized conducting cells called tracheids). Ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms all represent tracheophytes (what have been called "vascular plants" for a long time, though mosses have vascular tissue as well). These "higher vascular" plants are quite different than mosses and the latter group requires a specialized training and vocabulary for identification. As such, they are not included in Go Botany (which is not to suggest they are not important members of natural communities). Best wishes.
