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U.S. Government Photo
Sphagnum mosses, like the one pictured above, are commonly
called peat moss. When peat is dried and compacted, it forms a
coal-like biomass that has been used for hundreds of years as
fuel.
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Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts,
belong to a division of herbaceous
nonflowering plants called bryophtes.
Bryophytes are characterized by
rhizoids instead of true roots. (A rhizoid is a slender fiber that
functions as a root in mosses, ferns and other plants.)
Mosses, liverworts, and hornsworts
are found throughout the world and create seed beds for larger
plants and provide protection against soil erosion as they attach to
the ground.
Bryophytes grow not only on the
ground, but on trees, rocks and sometimes buildings. They are more
common in damp shady areas. |
