help identify this

[mklinger1109]

i found this today in pennsylvania, usa. i posted on another website and was told to come here to get an answer as i beleive it is a type of moss and you guys are the moss experts. it has no roots and grows upright with modified fronds attaching to the soil. when pulled from the water it cannot support itself on the main stalk. there was also a bunch growing emersed on rocks that was no higher than a half an inch. the picture shows one "plant" of about 6 inches. any help would be appreciated.

[mklinger1109]

it seems as though the picture didnt load, so here is the web address. http://dell.shutterfly.com/view/pict...d444d43b&idx=1

[Slaigar]

Might want to find another way of loading it. The current webpage requests to sign in with a password. If it is one that we have never seen before, you can send a small sample to Mr. Loh and he will try to get it identified(with microscopes and such).

[mklinger1109]

hello and thanks for the reply, i would be happy to send a sample of it to someone, but i would first like to confirm it is a moss. maybe i could email you or someone the picture and then you could post it for me? it would be greatly appreciated.
regards,
mike

[imported_subzero]

Hi mklinger1109, you can send the pictures to me and i can help you to put it up on this post for everyone to see

Ben Yau
[email protected]

[Slaigar]

Mike has sent me this picture and it is hard to identify the plant. If it is a moss, it is quite unique.

10mb per hour limit on site! If you do not see it, check again in an hour.

Are there any guesses? It looks like a stem plant in the picture. Hopefully he will be able to get a better picture.

[hwchoy]

I hate to say this but looks like we need a better picture.

[mklinger1109]

i took more pictures and sent them to slaigar. maybe he will also post those for me. i apologize for the quality. i guess i have to take my camera in to get serviced or something. if subsequent pics are not good enough, i would be happy to send it to someone to analyze.
regards,
mike

[Slaigar]

Here are next the pictures:


I am still quite puzzled on what it is.

[hwchoy]

I suspect you are too close to the subject. what camera is it? can you try to turn-on a "flower" icon which sets a camera into macro mode so you can focus closer? If not, just try to step back until it manages to focus at least on the paper. Right now the camera is focusing on the table (top of the picture) which probably means it is not able to focus any closer.

[hwchoy]

actually it reminds me of Ceratophyllum the hornwort.

[Slaigar]

I was thinking of maybe a stonewort(Chara maybe?) or bladderwort of some kind. The short needle-like 'leaves' throw me off.

These pages have a few pictures that may help:
http://www.sfr.cas.psu.edu/water/chara.htm
http://www.broadwaters.fsnet.co.uk/stonewor.htm

[hwchoy]

wait a minute, did he say it grows emersed? then it cannot be Ceratophyllum nor Chara since they are strictly aquatic.

[mklinger1109]

i know it is not hornwort because i can also find that around here quite readily, i do not beleive it is chara, from the pics i've seen it doesnt have the little needles coming from the shoots. i have sent more pics of where it grows. maybe that will help.

[mklinger1109]

it is peat moss(sphagnum moss). is there any interest to aquarists for this moss besides for substrate?

[kc]

I hate to say this. The 3 pictures looked like my dying tonina.

Very sorry for my honest reply.

[mklinger1109]

not a problem, if you send me your email i will send you a clear pic of it growing emersed. i did a search on peat moss and found it on a site from austria...the picture was an exact match. i am now sure it is sphagnum moss.

[timebomb]

it is peat moss(sphagnum moss). is there any interest to aquarists for this moss besides for substrate?

If it's Sphagnum Moss, it wouldn't be of any use to aquarists. The professor gave me some when I was in his lab a few weeks ago. I tried growing them in my tanks but they all melted. The Prof told me later that Sphagnum Moss isn't aquatic. They can't grow under water.

Loh K L

[Green Baron]

it is peat moss(sphagnum moss). is there any interest to aquarists for this moss besides for substrate?

If it's Sphagnum Moss, it wouldn't be of any use to aquarists. The professor gave me some when I was in his lab a few weeks ago. I tried growing them in my tanks but they all melted. The Prof told me later that Sphagnum Moss isn't aquatic. They can't grow under water.

Loh K L

KL,
I grow the one Prof gave me in a sealed container with some damp sand and it is still alive albeit growing very slowly.

[mklinger1109]

the website i was reading said it likes very acidic water. it also grows very slowly. i picked four from the pond and all are still alive albeit only 4 days. my ph is neutral but all are maintaining their green. in the pond i found them in they were growing emersed and submerged(in as much as 3 feet of water). the water it was growing in is fed by a sulphur creek. for those not familiar with a sulphur creek, it is a creek created when water runs through a coal mine and pics up the heavy mineral deposits. these deposits stain the water orange, give it a sulphur smell, and destroy pretty much all fish life. the only fish i've ever seen living in one of these creeks is the carp. if you are interested in seeing a sulphur creek i can take a pic if someone would post it for me.
http://www.botanik.univie.ac.at/pers...ch/basics.html that is the website i was talking about. if anyone is interested in some of this moss please let me know.
regards,
michael
p.s. i bought a tripod for my camera, my pics are getting better. check this one out.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...r=asc&start=15