A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss Quiz

Answer: Stems

Mosses are very simple forms of plants that are bryophytes, or non-vascular plants. They lack the mechanisms present in higher-order plants to transport water and minerals throughout the entire plant, namely, xylem and phloem. The xylem transfers the water and minerals from the roots and the phloem transfer the results of the photosynthesis back down to the roots to be stored. Mosses lack this structure and instead have gametophytes and the sporophytes, two structures that allow the moss to feed and to reproduce.

Answer: Algae

Mosses have been recovered in ice deposits from the Permian Era from both Antarctica and eastern Russia. This dates them back at least 250 million years, but their existence on Earth could be longer still. Mosses are closest in relation to algae, specifically, green algae.

They evolved when waters receded from land and left the algae upon the damp ground. The algae were able to live outside of the water and evolved into moss. Today there are 700 genera of mosses and over 10,000 species.

Answer: Photosynthesis

Autotrophs are organisms that are able to produce complex carbon-based compounds from simple ones, meaning they can take simple atoms to produce what they need, be it carbohydrates (sugars), proteins, or lipids (fats). Mosses are no different than other plants.

They use the sun's energy and convert water and carbon dioxide (CO2) into other molecules for their own use. This also places them at the bottom of the food chain as other organisms, heterotrophs, will consume mosses to get these nutrients for themselves.

Answer: Spores

Mosses have the capability to reproduce both asexually and sexually. Normally, the moss male gametophyte (antheridium) will produce sperm seeking out the female gametophyte (archegonium) which produces eggs. The transfer is assisted by water flow from one part to the other, and this is one of the main reasons that mosses need to live in very damp places.

This 'mating' will form an attached sporophyte that contains genetic material from both the parent plants and will begin to produce spores for dispersal, through meiosis.

Answer: No

Mosses are not parasitic, similar to lichens. They provide a micro-ecology that provides a home for many microscopic organisms such as mites, tardigrades (water bears), rotifers, woodlice, micro-mollusks, and nematodes. They provide food for small animals. Since mosses do not have roots, they do not take nutrients out of the soil.

The moss takes the nutrients it needs from water (rain or other available water) and from the air, and it is able to produce most of what it needs on its own. It is a good plant to grow where the soil is very poor.

Answer: Soil erosion

Moss is a very hardy plant and does not require nutrient-rich soil to live in. Its rhizomes are able to plant themselves in small crevices and to help the topsoil latch onto and stay on the ground. They help provide a cover for the ground and, since they cling to each other, prevent the soil from being blown away.

Despite the moss being a carbon sink (a place where carbon is absorbed and transformed into sugars, proteins, and fats), their prevalence on Earth is not significant enough to be a significant way to reduce global warming.

Answer: Wind

Most mosses have stalks grow upwards when the spores are ready to release. These stalks are called sporophytes and contain a capsule at the end containing the spores. These capsules contain 'teeth' that hold the spores in place as they mature. When the spores are mature enough to plant themselves, the capsules then open allowing the wind to pick up the spores and disperse them.

There is one species of moss that has compressed air in the capsule, and, when it opens, the spores are projected upwards from 10 to 20 centimeters into the air, aiding the dispersal.

Answer: Moss continues to grow and thrive

Moss has a natural antifreeze which allows it to continue to grow during the winter months. It is not unusual for moss to stay green, keep producing spores and to grow larger in the winter. In fact, seeing that many mosses prefer to grow on the forest floor, winter allows more sunlight to reach the plant and moss tends to thrive, even as far as performing photosynthesis under a covering of ice or snow. Moss can expand during the winter months as long as the rhizomes have a rough surface to latch on to.

Answer: One

Moss leaves are only able to be one cell thick. Since there is no vascular system in moss, cells have to be able to fend for themselves. Every cell needs access to the outside light and nutrients, therefore, if a cell were to be on the inside, it would starve and die. Thus, moss has evolved to have leaves of a thickness of one cell. Despite the thinness, moss is a very hardy plant.

Answer: Yes

Mosses require water to reproduce and the north side of a tree, in the northern hemisphere, is more often in the shade. In the southern hemisphere it's the opposite, the shaded side is the south side. Regardless, the side that is in the shade more will retain water more easily, and mosses will thrive in that kind of environment. So, mosses prefer the northside of trees, and any other objects that are rough enough to sink their rhizoids - root-like structures - into. Mosses will grow on three roots and soil in all direction on the forest floor as it is shaded at all times of the day.