Day 184: Lichenology and bryology go pretty much hand in hand, although I've avoided bryophytes as being way too complicated. Still, there are a few mosses I know and love, and a lot of bryos have enchanting multi-syllabic scientific names. Anyone who knows me as more than a passing acquaintance knows my love of words; it was only a matter of time before I fell to temptation. I was given a firm push at the lichenologists' conference when I discovered Bruce McCune had written a field guide to the Pacific Northwest's more common mosses, and of course I find field guides absolutely irresistible. I figured I'd start with something which looked easy (at least I hoped it would be as easy as it looked!). I was pretty sure my fence moss conformed to Dicranoweisia cirrata (ooooh, that's a good one), but the deal was clinched when I stuck a leaf under the dark-field microscope and it looked just exactly like the picture in Bruce's book. Well, that was fun! What's next?
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