Day 82: "Little trees." That's what I thought they were when I was very young. I spent a lot of my childhood in the woods, alone and unsupervised, with only the injunction that I be home before dark. Childhood was very different in those days, and if I am grateful for any part of my life, it is for that. My love of botany grew from such things as these "little trees," which I later learned were a moss. Which moss they were has eluded me until now. Mosses are not easy to identify, but you would think that one this common might be featured on the cover of any guide to mosses of the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case, and I had only been able to determine that it was some kind of "haircap," not conversant with the very specialized vocabulary surrounding bryophytes. Finally, with the aid of a glossary and a few reliable, authoritative websites, I have decided that it is Polytrichum juniperinum, Juniper Haircap Moss. I could be wrong, but at this stage of my life, that's just gonna have to do.
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