nick.yocum
Echophoto 2
With the help of Dr. Borrett and Dr. Penneys, my best educated guess for identifying this bryophyte is that it is polytrichum (nicknamed hair cap moss). In this photo, the polytrichum is growing on a turkey oak tree that I found on campus near the water tower. After talking to Dr. Penneys, I believe the relationship between the two is commensalism (+,0) because the polytrichum is using the bark of the turkey oak as an anchor to grow and survive without harming the tree. The ecological concept we learned called commensalism is the relationship between two organisms in which one benefits from the other but the latter of the two is not harmed nor benefited.
The average lifespan of this moss is about 5 years. Polytrichum is very persistent and can live in low or high light environments given it has enough water. This moss can be found all around the world in the wild or as decorative ground coverings. In some parts of the world, people even use it in tea and is believed to help dissolve kidney and gallbladder stones.
Echophoto 2
With the help of Dr. Borrett and Dr. Penneys, my best educated guess for identifying this bryophyte is that it is polytrichum (nicknamed hair cap moss). In this photo, the polytrichum is growing on a turkey oak tree that I found on campus near the water tower. After talking to Dr. Penneys, I believe the relationship between the two is commensalism (+,0) because the polytrichum is using the bark of the turkey oak as an anchor to grow and survive without harming the tree. The ecological concept we learned called commensalism is the relationship between two organisms in which one benefits from the other but the latter of the two is not harmed nor benefited.
The average lifespan of this moss is about 5 years. Polytrichum is very persistent and can live in low or high light environments given it has enough water. This moss can be found all around the world in the wild or as decorative ground coverings. In some parts of the world, people even use it in tea and is believed to help dissolve kidney and gallbladder stones.