Field of Science

Mosses in the Garden

Thinking about integrating some mosses into your garden or landscaping? Have a shady spot that could use a bit of green? Gardening with mosses may be in your future...

Kathy Connolly has written an article on just this topic for The Day newspaper out of New London, CT. I am quoted throughout the article for some tips and moss biology info. Check out the full text for free on their website.

My favorite quote from the article. 
"If you put a philodendron through a blender," says Budke, "you have a dead philodendron. But with moss, each living cell is capable of growing a whole new plant. That's why the blender works." 
This the backyard of the house where I used to live in Connecticut.
Others might call it the 'frog pond' or 'herpetology pool'.
I always thought of it as the "moss pond".
That is just one amazing fun fact about mosses! Each live cell is totipotent. Meaning that each can regrow an entirely new plant and be any type of cell. Similar to stem cells in animals that can be used to grow many different types of organs.

Overall it was a fun interview to give and I think the article came out very well! Informative, interesting, and all about mosses!

1 comment:

  1. That's a great quote! I remember seeing a similar blender experiment with the humble sponge, which also has the ability to bounce back after blending.

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