Fire Moss & Ice
Tolerating pollution and broad pH ranges Fire Moss is fairly common.. If you see a patch of moss that has a red haze over it you can be pretty certain it’s Fire Moss. The stalks and spore capsules are red – brown and seen from a shallow side angle a patch of moss has a red haired look. Looking straight down the stalks almost vanish.
Moss and lichens can hardly wait for the snow to melt before they go into their reproductive cycle. After melting and refreezing (who knows how many times) snow has turned to ice trapping a few Fire Moss spore capsules.
Fire Moss – Ceratodon purpureus
![]() |
For a closer look click the image above for a 1024 x 768 sized version.
The thumbnail is linked to a 1680 x 1050 wide screen image. Use either as desktop wallpaper if you like. |
Just another Felt Lichen – Peltigera polydactylon surrounded by icy snow. This may be the last of the ‘on ice’ lichen photos of the year. The snow is nearly ‘no more’.

…And now for something completely different:
I found a puzzle today. It was well packed in fur but I suspect it’s missing a few pieces.
Owl Pellet

The ‘Awakening’ photo contest at Gardening Gone Wild is still open. The deadline for entries is 11:59 pm Eastern time on Sunday, March 21, 2010. Go check out the details so you can enter too.
The Fire Moss and Ice photo above is my entry. Now show me yours.












