Moss, moss, everywhere there's moss, growing on the trees, growing on the rocks
Look up, look around, can't you see the moss
Our farm is covered in moss. Pretty much everywhere I look I can find different types of mosses, lichens, fungi, and algaes. They honestly are everywhere on the property. It starts at the creek and the massive amount of moisture that is maintained throughout the year. As you move away from the creek bed the type of mosses and algaes slowly change to more lichens and lesser mosses.
The image above is of a moss growing on the base of a Douglass Fir tree at the edge of the creek bed. The image below is of the algae that grows on the rocks in the creek.
This lichen is EXTREMELY common on Ponderosa Pine trees. I remember the very same lichen growing on the pine trees in California where I grew up as I find on our pine trees here in Washington. The brightness of the yellow has always amazed me. I really wonder if there is a way to utilize the lichen as a dye, if the color will leech out of the lichen?
This likely form of Haircap Moss grows on the side of one of my only boulders on the property, amongst the other types of mosses. There are 3 distinct types growing in a couple square foot section of the rock, and probably more than the 3 I can easily see.
These tube lichens like to grow from the decomposing wood that lies on the ground beneath the pine and fir trees. For such a small ecosystem contained on the piece of wood there are a large number of different lichens and moss growing. The piece of wood is only about 4 inches long so the lichens you are seeing are only 1/4 to 3/4 inch tall.
The final moss is growing at the base of one of the Maple trees that inhabit the creek bed. The lack of sunshine has not seemed to harm the growth of the mosses as they are thick, full, and lush with just the filtered light and regular humidity levels. Even though we are on the east side of the state, opposite the rain forests of the west side, we still have many areas that contain the similar flora.
I hope you enjoyed this tour of some of the mosses growing on Fleming Family Farm.
Check out my:
Whaleshares blog | Steemit blog | Scorum blog
Fleming Family Farm
FLEMING FAMILY FARM, LLC
Sustainable & Organic Methods | Heirloom Produce
Harika resim