Kentucky Plant Life - Mosses, Liverworts, and Hornworts
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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. |
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. |
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON A VARIETY OF PLANTS:
KSNPC Rare Plants DatabaseKentucky State Nature Preserves Commission provides a searchable database where you can search by "common name", "scientific name", your "county name" or get a listing for statewide rare plants.
USDA
PLANTS DATABASE
You can search by scientific or common
name, or do a state search and see a listing of plants in your
state. There are over 30,000 images of plants, and a wealth of
knowledge available on this site.
Plant Facts is a huge interactive database with photos and videos produced and maintained by The Ohio State University. Their web site says they have: "merged several digital collections developed at Ohio State University to become an international knowledge bank and multimedia learning center"
