[Most recent entry Jan 16, 2022]
In early October 2023 I began at last to pay some attention to mosses. Since then, I've posted about 100 observations with a moss taxo, plus one scalewort and one spleenwort. Progress in ID has been slow when measured by the number of RG observations added per week of daily activity on i Nat. About fourteen weeks on, I have RG observations on thirteen species. All observations are from the Anchorage Farm Saugerties.
I do know much more than at the start, thanks to the more than thirty community members who have helped me, several more than once and in painstaking detail.

Community members have suggested references both in covers and on-line in addition to the one I'd been working with, McKnight and Rohrer's Common Mosses of the Northeast and Appalachians Kindle edition. These include
2) J. Jenkins and S. Williams Mosses of the Northern Forest: A Digital Atlas
3) Michael Leuth https://northernforestatlas.org/category/digital-atlases-2/mosses-digital-atlases-2/
http://www.bildatlas-moose.de/ spectacular color photos and color drawings/paintings macro and micro. Warning: by no means are all of the few mosses I’ve got familiar with in southeastern NYS to be found in this beautiful Europe-grounded atlas
4) https://www.mosses-of-europe.com/ by Michael Leuth The three volumes are not readable on line, but judging by the earlier work, Mosses of Germany, this is extraordinary science and artistry.
5) https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/bryophyte-ecology1/ Janice Glyme Bryophyte Ecology 5 volumes. I’ve hardly explored it, but the methods section looks terrific.
6) Ireland, R. R. (1982). Moss Flora of the Maritime Provinces. National Museum of Natural Sciences Publications in Botany, No. 13. National Museums of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/178709#page/1/mode/1up line drawings in wonderful detail.
7) Bowman, K. 2017. Field Guide to the Moss Genera in New Jersey With Coefficient of Conservation and Indicator Status. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey Forest Service, Office of Natural Lands Management, Trenton, NJ, 08625. Submitted to United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, State Wetlands Protection Development Grant, Section 104(B)(3); CFDA No. 66.461, CD97225809. https://herbarium.rutgers.edu/documents/Field-Guide-to-the-Moss-Genera-in-New-Jersey.pdf. This has a promising-looking key based on same three characteristics as the key in McKnight and Rohrer. Now that I'm learning to tease out individual leaves I can begin to use keys.
8) https://www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk/learning

Around mid-November I started photographing stems and branches at 50 power and leaves at higher power, up to 450x for a look at cell structure. This helps with IDs, but there are a lot of rabbit holes for a nerd like me to follow. A prime example is assigning species within the Genus Atrichum. I have nineteen observations of this Genus, believe there are three species among them. So far only one has RG, which has to be a little shaky as there are no close-ups of the leaves. Unless I can find someone who specializes in the Genus as it's found in eastern North America I won't get much further.
My overall objective at first was to have at least one RG observation on dozen mosses found on the farm that Jenkins and Williams call must know (MK). Have eight so far. Below is a list of MK target species and genera. It also includes several non-MK taxa that have RG and some taxa either MK or not that I've posted once with insufficient data to elicit comments, but hope to get back to.
For the first fourteen on the list I have one or two RG observations each. The next group, some of which have multiple observations, are not RG. A couple might make if I flog them to the community. Most, however, even those with some sort of micro-photography, are just not research grade material. I need better observations on them. The last two are MKs I haven't come across yet.
I hope to add some more names to the RG group, but it will be slow going. Ulota crispa is the next one in my sights. I'm pretty sure I have that but have not been able as of Dec 13 AM to get get positive feedback. Several observations have been posted as this so far, but none has made the cut. Laeskea is another that's been remarked on more than once as likely having made a cameo appearance.
Taxo
Thuidium delicatulum MK
Entodon seductrix MK
Hedwigia ciliata MK
Hedwigia integrifolia
Calliergonella lindbergii (AKA Hypnum lindbergii)
Pseudanomodon attenuatus (AKA Anomodon attenuatus)
Atrichum angustatum MK
Platygyrium repens MK
Callicladium imponens (AKA Hypnum imponens) MK
Plagyomnium cuspidatum MK
Climacium dendroides MK
Bryoandersonia illecebra
Callicladium haldanianum MK
Oxyrrhynchium hians

Atrichum undulatum (Catherine's moss) MK
Bryhinia novae-angliae
Orthotrichum stellatum
Ulota crispa MK
Amblystegium serpens
Kindbergia praelonga
Barbula unguiculata

Entodon cladorrhizans MK
Plagyomnium ciliare MK

Posted on November 17, 2023 12:26 AM by stephenshafer