A common name for a common Moss

[timebomb]

Hi, folks,

Professor Benito Tan and his assistant, Claudia are going to publish a scientific paper on the various aquatic mosses available to aquarists in Singapore. Choy Heng Wah, Gan Cheong Weei and I are helping them. The goal is to establish the scientific names and to clarify the confusion about the common names. Here's where everyone can play a part.

We already have common names for most of the mosses but the one that can be found everywhere in Singapore does not have one yet. We know now that it's a species of Vesicularia. For the time being, I promised the Prof to keep the species name confidential.


Choy Heng Wah and Ben Yau were the first hobbyists to report about this moss and they gave it a name, "Bukit Timah Moss". Bukit Timah is the name of the highest hill in Singapore. The area around it was where Choy and Ben found the moss. Several weeks after their discovery, Chua Kim Cheng found the same moss growing in his housing estate. He called it "HDB" moss. For the benefit of our foreign friends, HDB stands for Housing and Development Board, the statutory body in Singapore that is responsible for the construction and upkeep of housing estates here.

The Bukit Timah name isn't very apt as the moss isn't confined to that area alone. As for the name HDB, it wouldn't make much sense to people living elsewhere. The Prof suggested that we call it "Singapore Moss" but I have reservations that giving the moss such a name would incur the wrath of the authorities. The Prof doesn't think so though, he thinks the Singapore name would be appropiate as, in his words, "the people in Singapore were the first group of enthusiasts to popularise this common moss species found all over tropical SE Asia".

I would agree with the Prof but if you can suggest a better common name, please let us know about it. I will submit a list of names for the Prof to decide which one is best. If your suggestion is adopted as the common name, I can't promise that any recognition would be given to you. There will be no prizes either. After all, the moss has been around much longer than any of us have been hobbyists. None of us can claim to be its discoverer either as the plant has already been classified long ago. But it does not have a common name yet so we can help to give it one.

To start the ball rolling, here's my suggestion:

Estate Moss

This is what the moss looks like. The lower pic is a close-up.





Loh K L

[budak]

Suburban Moss!

[hwchoy]

hah! I still like Bukit Timah moss, even though I cannot quite recall whether it was Ben or me that made that up first I don't feel that it cannot take that name just because it is found elsewhere, otherwise we'd have to call it Dairy Farm moss :P

And after all Bukit Timah is our tallest hill, is a Malay name (i.e. local), and is a hotspot of biodiversity as well, quite apt actually. I would have like Termasek moss but the Prof already choped it with another terrestrial moss

So my first choice is Bukit Timah moss, second choice is Singapore moss.

Another possibility*ahem* is based on what Ben actually found it in: Longkang moss

[hwchoy]

btw when I grew it in very cold water in the office it exhibits triangular fronds like the Christmas moss.

[imported_subzero]

So far i have only come across that particular stream that has the 'Bt.Timah'/'HDB' Moss found totally submerge under water. Whereas those found in HDB area is found on the land or near to the drain where it is damp. So between Bt.Timah and HDB, i think Bt.Timah is more appropriate if the papers is for aquatic moss.

What about 'Singa' Moss
Or 'sia moss' sia- Singapore indigenous aquatic (people know SIA for airline which belong to Singapore)

It's like giving name to your kids, it's hard to decide as it will be use perpetually

[strung_0ut]

Feather Moss or Furry Moss or Fire Moss.





Dennis

[Capt.]

My first thought when I saw that moss was it looks like a lot of hedges (fence or border line by using bushy trees or shrubs) I see around here.

Therefore my suggestion is hedge moss, or fencing moss.

[hongwei]

i like the name longkang moss, i see alot of it in our canels.

hey guys, i am preparing to start a planted tank and was looking around for moss around my area. i have found alot of longkang moss.. realized tt they do not grow very lone in the longkang..
i was just wondering.. anyone has a picture of a well established longkang moss? or is the pic posted as above the longest the moss can get?

and btw, i found this piece of moss growing on dry land, its like green in color, just took the whole chunk out and put it into my tank.. i think it looks like xmas moss.. i am puzzled.. does moss grow on the ground where water is not always abundant?

[hwchoy]

The pic shown by Loh is not grown very long yet. The true Singapore moss (the moss previously known as Bukit Timah moss) is similar to Christmas moss when grown submersed, with triangular fronds.

[wks]

Since this moss is found all over Singapore, maybe we can call it "Nanyang Moss".

Jason Wong

[hwchoy]

aiyoh! enough already. It is now called Singapore Moss!

[hongwei]

i just gotten some singapore moss from the long kang.
it was covered with red soil and no matter how much i wash the moss is still red(and no, it is not a new species of red moss)..
is there anything i can do other than let the moss outgrow the red color?
is it safe to put it into my tank?

[kc]

Hongwei,

Is it the same as Singapore moss? Maybe you got a new moss?

If you can't get rid of the colour, soak it in a tub of water and leave it in your balcony. You can harvest the new growth.

[hongwei]

Hongwei,

Is it the same as Singapore moss? Maybe you got a new moss?

If you can't get rid of the colour, soak it in a tub of water and leave it in your balcony. You can harvest the new growth.

new moss? not likely. i will update u guys on the progress.

[francis]

Sing moss sounds better.IMHO

[hongwei]

hey guys,
i have yet found another patch of moss i was talking abt growing around my estate (its seems like you are likely to fnid them in old private estates)

i am pretty puzzle on the whole idea of moss growing on dry land.
1. it looks like xmas moss.. without the well defined triangular shape..
2. it doesnt look like the longkang moss that we find in our canel, in fact, tis quite well grown and big.
3. it has a pale green colour when i saw it on the ground, but it gives the dull green colour when put it in my tank (maybe it is dull due to the soil i dun know)

any mone has any idea what moss this is?
or has any one seen any moss growing on the ground before?

[Green Baron]

Sing moss sounds better.IMHO

Everyone of us has our own preferences but it has been decided that this common Singapore moss will be call Singapore Moss.
Prof Tan's article on mosses in aquaria will be published in the the Science Center magazine in 2~3 months time. After getting used to the speed of electronic news and publications, paper publications seem to take forever ...

[Green Baron]

hey guys,
i have yet found another patch of moss i was talking abt growing around my estate (its seems like you are likely to fnid them in old private estates)

i am pretty puzzle on the whole idea of moss growing on dry land.
1. it looks like xmas moss.. without the well defined triangular shape..
2. it doesnt look like the longkang moss that we find in our canel, in fact, tis quite well grown and big.
3. it has a pale green colour when i saw it on the ground, but it gives the dull green colour when put it in my tank (maybe it is dull due to the soil i dun know)

any mone has any idea what moss this is?
or has any one seen any moss growing on the ground before?

Post a picture !

[whoppie]

I found singapore moss growing under a tree in my uncle's garden. Been in my tank since CNY, growing nicely and slowly.

[imported_subzero]

Here are my contribution for Singapore Moss Pictures
(edited with the right pictures)


To see full size image, go to http://www.hexazona.com/photos/SingaporeMoss.jpg