8 February: Moss

Today’s plant of the day is Narrow Spring Moss, Mnium Androgynum, dedicated to St John of Matha. 10 things you might not know about moss:

1. Mosses belong to the genus Bryophyta. With over 15,000 species, mosses are the second most diverse plant group on the planet, the first being the angiosperms, the flowering plants, with 350,000 species.
2. Mosses don’t have roots. Instead, they have rhizoids, small hairlike structures which anchor the moss to whatever it’s growing on, and absorb moisture and nutrients.
3. They don’t produce flowers, either, but reproduce by means of spores. They are reliant on damp conditions for reproduction because the male cells need to move via a film of Water to reach the female cells.
4. Most species of moss grow to a height of between 0.1 and 3.0 inches. The tallest self-supported moss in the world is Dawsonia superba. The average height of this moss is about 24 inches. There are reports of Dawsonia superba reaching a height of over three feet.
5. There are also mosses which glow in the dark. This is due to adaptations mosses which grow in caves have developed in order to cope with low light conditions – the chloroplasts inside the moss gather together to collect as much light as they can, and the lens shaped cells focus it, reflecting it, which is what causes the glow. An example is Schistostega pennata, also known as dragon's gold, which shines an emerald green colour.
6. Species of moss are found all over the world, including Antarctica, and have adapted to a wide range of conditions, from snow covered mountains to baking hot deserts. Studies have shown that they can photosynthesise at temperatures ranging from -15ºC to around 40ºC. Desert mosses can survive even hotter temperatures by becoming dormant.
7. Mosses are important ecologically as one of the first colonisers of bare ground. In fact, the first land plants to appear on our planet were very similar to moss. They date back 450 million years, and have survived a range of drastic climate changes. Moss will soak up rainfall like sponges, creating a more humid environment and keeping moisture in the soil, which makes the environment more hospitable to other plants. Mosses can affect the temperature of the soil, warming it up or cooling it down depending on the environment. In hot places, they can protect tree roots by shading and insulating the soil.
8. It’s not only other plants which benefit from having mosses around. Animals do, too, as moss provides a habitat for creatures which like moisture, like woodlice, Slugs, rotifers, tardigrades and nematodes. Insects lay their eggs in moss. While most of the animals which live in moss are tiny, there’s a type of Turtle in Canada which shelters in moss during the cold winter months; and with so many invertebrates living there, it will attract birds, like Blackbirds, which will tear it up looking for food beneath it.
9. A species of moss found in the UK, Fontinalis antipyretica, was traditionally used to extinguish fires because it retained so much water. In fact, its name even means "against Fire". The absorbing properties of moss meant that it could be used to clean and dry fish, or to pack food in to keep it dry. It was also used to make nappies and sanitary pads. Moss had some antiseptic properties, too, which made it useful as a wound dressing. During World War I, medics would use moss to treat and bandage wounds.
10. Ancient societies had a number of uses for moss. Laplanders, North American tribes, and other people living in colder climates used it to insulate their homes, their bedding and even their clothing. Otzi the Iceman had moss-packed boots.

Who's That Girl?

Matt Webster lives in a tower block and attends a failing school. He dreams of being a spy like James Bond. Little does he know that he is being watched by someone who can make him into even more than that – a superhero.

His first solo mission is to attend a ball at the Decembrian Embassy and discover who is planning to steal a priceless diamond. While there, he meets the mysterious Lady Antonia du Cane, and is powerfully drawn to her. It soon becomes clear, however, that Lady du Cane is not what she seems. Matt’s quest to discover who she really is almost costs him his career.

A modern day Guy Fawkes gathers a coterie around him with the aim of blowing up Parliament with a nuclear bomb. To achieve this, they need money. Lots of it. Selling the Heart of Decembria Diamond will provide more than enough. All that stands in their way is the Freedom League – but the League is beset by internal disagreements. Can the heroes put their differences aside in time to save the day?

Prime Minister Richard Miller and his wife Fiona grieve for their daughter, Yasmin, who has been missing for three years, and is presumed to be dead. Viper agent Violet Parker could hold the key to what happened to Yasmin, but Violet is accused of giving away the organisation’s secrets. She is to be executed without trial. Will she take her knowledge of what happened to Yasmin with her to her grave?

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