Day 14: We've had our first "killing frost," 26° F to be exact (that's -3.5° C to you metric types). Any delicate plants are done for, tender annuals terminated, and the coup de grace has been delivered to the vegetable garden, but over there on the fence, the bryophytes are demonstrating what it takes to survive in a harsh world. How do they manage? The secret lies in the ability of their tissues to husband sugars. When frost draws moisture out of them in a way which would kill most other plants, it serves to concentrate the sugars within mosses and lichens, thereby lowering the freezing point. Cold-hardy plants utilize this same strategy, although most of them aren't as good at it as the bryos. You can't help but admire the evolutionary process here. A bit of vegetation we deem "primitive" is better equipped to withstand climate extremes than we are. That should make you re-think your position in the scheme of things, shouldn't it?
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