So I passed were N & I freed the water the other day, it was gushing forth in its new passage.
I’ve been reading Gathering Moss and this brings me to looking at the Boundary layer and the different kind of mosses that gather in the barks of trees
from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Gathering Moss – [Learning to See p 13]
The word “moss” is commonly applied to plants which are not actually mosses. Reindeer “moss” is a lichen, Spanish “moss” is a flowering plant, sea “moss” is an alga, and club “moss” is a lycophyte. So what is a moss? A true moss or bryophyte is the most primitive of land plants. Mosses are often described by what they lack, in comparison to the more familiar higher plants. They lack flowers, fruits, and seeds and have no roots. They have no vascular system, no xylem and phloem to conduct water internally. They are the most simple of plants, and in their simplicity, elegant. With just a few rudimentary components of stem and leaf, evolution has produced some 22,000 species of moss worldwide. Each one is a variation on a theme, a unique creation designed for success in tiny niches in virtually every ecosystem.
I found some new fungi forming a flamboyant ruffle on the bark of a tree, a birch I thought at first but its branches didn’t form the familiar ever-more-finely-frayed silhouette. It’s a fabulous crouching cloud dragon. And there was more then on a stump by the depot. there were some deliciously splashy laurel leaves nearby the stump with the brackets.
Identified as an Oyster Mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus meaning ‘side ear’ because it grows a lateral stalk like an ear, and oyster because of its wavy edge. It is a saprophytic mushroom, getting its nourishment by absorbing dissolved organic material and can be found on live or dying deciduous trees, especially beech. It traps and eats nematode worms using lassos on its gills
here’s more about Oyster Mushrooms:
https://www.first-nature.com/fungi/pleurotus-ostreatus.php
here is a fascination video showing the Oyster Mushroom technique of lassooing of nematode worms:
I couldn’t help getting close to the Alder as its catkins are turning fuzzy already anticipating Spring. The sky was pinking in the East as grey clouds amassed in the West.
