Dr M is particularly fond of bryophytes and the following described two days spent with his students on the MSc Plant Diversity and MSc SISS at University of Reading getting to know these wonderful little green things intimately!
This is a rather characteristic order of acrocarpous mosses recognised by the generally very long, narrow leaves.
The Polytrichales is a characteristic order of acrocarpous mosses with robust, narrow leaves and a transparent sheathing base and with longitudinal lamellae on upper (adaxial) surface
“Lichens? They are just wannabe plants!” as one of my past botany students put it – she didn’t like them very much! Well I suppose there is some truth in this. Lichens are a curious combination of an alga (a group of plants which includes the seaweeds) and a fungus (not a plant – in fact fungi (e.g.mushrooms and toadstools) are closer, in evolutionary
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