October 2012 Desktop Calendar

The calendar for October is a blend of several different moss species occupying the crevice in a stone. The one in the center is Bryum argenteum, the silver sidewalk moss. As the common name suggests, this moss is regularly found growing in urban areas in between sidewalk tiles. 

I think that the color is really great, but now that I think of it I am not sure how it produces that color. Deposits in the cell walls? Papillae? Are they covered in hairs? Many questions with no answers. Maybe if I have time tomorrow I will look it up. Otherwise it is some great plant beauty to appreciate even without the scientific explanation.

1 - Single click on the image to open it up in a new window. (If you use the image directly from the blog post you will lose a lot of resolution.)

2 - Right-click (or ctrl-click) on the image, and chose the option that says, "Set as Desktop Background" or "Use as Desktop Picture". The wording may vary.

3 - If the image does not fit your desktop neatly, you may have to adjust the image (Mac: System Preferences - Desktop and Screen Saver - Desktop; Windows: Control Panel - Display - Desktop) and choose "Fill screen" as the display mode of your background image.

Any issues or suggestions please let me know. These calendars are an experiment in-progress.