The Ultimate Moss Glossary

Mosses and Other Bryophytes: An Illustrated Glossary
by Bill and Nancy Malcolm

This is a spectacularly illustrated glossary to bryophyte terminology. They cover 1500 terms and nearly 400 species. A majority of the entries are illustrated with spectacular color photographs, such as those shown on the cover. I have used this book in the Bryology Laboratory course that I have previously taught and the students love it. (Pictured here is my well-worn and intensely loved copy.) I picked up a copy of it when I first became interested in mosses during college and it has been an indispensable resourse for learning new bryology terms.

The first edition (pictured here) came out in 2000 and over the past years this edition has sold out and now you can only purchase it used. It is selling for about $400 a book on sites like amazon and abebooks. Thus I have seriously thought about selling my copy, but it is such a fabulous book that I am reticent to part with it.

Fortunately the second edition of this book has come out at a much lower price. It can only be purchased directly from the distributor, Manaaki Whenua Press in New Zealand. (Click here for a link to their website.) The book costs $98 New Zealand, which is around $75 US + shipping. They have added a lot of new material to the second edition. It has 100 more pages than the first edition and 2/3 of the illustrations are new. I have yet to purchase a copy, but I have checked out my advisor's copy and it is even better than the first edition!

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who interested in learning moss/bryophyte terminology.