GROWING MOSS! By Arturo Pérez E2A

 Arturo Pérez has sent us these photographs of an experiment he has done at home. He found some moss and put a tiny bit on a piece of damp cotton wool in a plastic cup, and kept it in a dark, humid place. After a few days Arturo found that the cotton wool was completely covered in fresh green moss. He was able to observe the rhizoides and phyllodes. It's quite suprising how much moss has grown!

 As you know, moss is a non-flowering plant. It is the most primitive type of plant that exists. It has no true roots. It's tiny roots are called rhizoids and they are used to attach the plant to a surface, but they don't absorb water and mineral salts. This is why you can find moss growing on rocks, also on hard surfaces like walls, steps etc. Moss absorb water through their tiny leaves that are called phyllodes. This is why they only live when there is a lot of humidity in the air. They live in damp places. Mosses reproduce by spores. They form filaments with capsules at the end that contain the spores. Mosses release the spores quickly because as soon as it starts getting hotter and the air dries up, they die.

 Thanks Arturo for colaborating with this simple and interesting experiment!