Mosses and the men who love them (our meeting with Dr Tan)

[timebomb]

Hi, folks,

Before you read on, be prepared for a few surprises. As I said in my last post - What we thought we knew, we were way off the mark. What we didn't know; the answers were staring at us all the time.

First surprise - Java Moss which we all (or maybe it was only me) thought the identity was never in doubt - In publications everywhere and all over the internet, the scientific name of Java Moss has always been Vesicularia dubyana. Right? Well, we were all wrong. Java Moss, according to Dr Tan is a species of Taxiphyllum. That's the genus name and for a very strange reason which I will go into details later, Dr Tan cannot confirm the species name. Here's a pic of Java Moss:



Second surprise - Taiwan Moss and Christmas Moss are mosses that belong to different genera. In other words, although they look like they are the same plant, they actually belong to different groups. You may be surprised, just as I was, that as far as identifying mosses are concerned, looks count for little. The way Dr Tan goes about identifying the mosses, heck, he doesn't even pay attention to the shapes of the fronds. How they grow in our tanks, whether upright or hanging down, count for even less. Dr Tan goes deep down into the cellular level; he looks at the structure of the cells under a powerful microscope. The sizes and shapes of the cells are an indication of genus. To confirm the species, he has to look at the spores. We (Gan Cheong Weei, Kim Cheng, Choy Heng Wah and I) had a wonderful time peering into Dr Tan's microscopes. They opened up a whole new world for us. We saw things like rhizoids (mosses' roots), sexual organs, cells and things like double costa (midriff of mosses). Here are pics of the Taiwan and Christmas Moss:





Third surprise - Erect Moss which we all thought were very different from Christmas as it grows up instead of down. Well, it belongs to the same genus as Christmas and here's the shocker - the genus is Vesicularia!! If you are surprised, you can imagine how I felt when Dr Tan informed us about that. To know now that Christmas and Erect moss are species of Vesicularia and to find out that what we thought (Java Moss) to be Vesicularia dubyana was actually another plant instead, heck, I'm still reeling in shock over all this. I can't reveal the species names of the Christmas and Erect here because Dr Tan said he cannot confirmed them yet. Here's a pic of the Erect Moss:



Fourth surprise - Willow Moss, scientific name Fontinalis antipyretica. No mixed-up about the common and scientific name of this plant but what we thought to be Willow Moss is actually Java Moss in disguise I brought some for Dr Tan to examine and he said what I had were Java Moss. I'm inclined to believe that many of the so-called Willow Mosses sold in some fish shops in Singapore are also actually Java Mosses. Dr Tan said Willow Moss is not native to the regions around here.

Fifth surprise - There's a species of Vesicularia growing all over the place in Singapore. I found some at the foot of Telok Blangah Hill Park. Here's a pic:



I won't reveal the name of this Vesicularia as the species name isn't confirmed but all species of Vesicularia, of which there are 4, are, according to Dr Tan, semi-aquatic mosses. In other words, they can be grown submersed in our tanks. Is this great news or what!!! I would encourage all of you to look harder at the grass patches around your housing estates. There’s a very good chance you can find this moss everywhere. Find them and grow some in your tank but be mindful not to destroy the habitats where they are found. Take only what is necessary and please ensure there’s enough of them left for the moss to propagate.

Speaking of propagation, I will explain why Dr Tan cannot confirm the species name of the Taxiphyllum sp, the moss formerly known as Vesicularia dubyana. (You know, for some strange reason, I got helluva kick when I typed that last phrase ). Please take note that my explanation may be somewhat fuzzy as I’m just regurgitating what Dr Tan told us.

Mosses can reproduce themselves sexually. They have male and female sexual organs which cannot be seen by the naked eye but are very distinct under a microscope. Male organs release sperm cells which find their way into the female organs and fertilise the eggs inside. Once fertilized, the female organ transforms into a thing called a capsule. If you have many capsules growing in your mosses, it would mean there's a lot of wild sex taking place in your tank. Here’s a pic of 2 Christmas Moss capsules:



The one on the left shows a complete capsule. The one on the right is a capsule that has released its spores. Spores are like seeds. Wherever they land, new mosses will grow. In their natural habitats, winds carry the spores of terrestial mosses. Under water, the current carries the spores of aquatic mosses down the streams where they live. Don't ask me why we don't see Christmas mosses sprouting all over our tanks but I have some mosses growing from the corners of my fish tank and I can tell you sure as hell I didn't plant any moss there. Here's how they look growing on the silicon:



For some strange reason which even Dr Tan couldn’t explain, all the Java Mosses found locally do not produce capsules. It could be something to do with the chemistry of our water but Dr Tan isn’t sure. To confirm the species name, Dr Tan has to be able to see the spores. Without capsules, there are no spores. There’s a species of Java Moss from Vietnam that produces capsules but unfortunately, Dr Tan didn’t have a live specimen. He suspects that the Java Moss from Vietnam is the same as those found locally but without spores, this cannot be confirmed.

I’m appealing to all of you, on Dr Tan’s behalf, to take a close look at the Java Mosses in your tanks. If you find even just one capsule, it would be worth a great deal to scientific research. Let me know and I will be at your house as soon as I can to pick up that capsule for Dr Tan. But please make sure it’s from Java Moss and not any other mosses. I personally have grown Java Moss for many years but have never seen a capsule among them before. It could be the capsules will only appear when Java Mosses are grown emersed or when they are dosed with hormones. Neither Dr Tan nor I are sure about this but grow them emersed, submersed, whatever-mersed; dose them with fertilizers or hormones; pee into the tank if you have to , if you can produce one capsule from your Java Moss, you could very well become famous overnight. Your name may go down in the annals of scientific research

On my way home from Dr Tan’s lab, I stopped at 2 fish shops to buy more mosses. Here are the pics:





The fish shop owners whom I bought the above mosses from said they were Willow Moss and Taiwan Moss respectively. I'm quite sure they are, as we were, wrong about the names. I'll be sending these mosses to Dr Tan for proper identification later.

Dr Tan is just as fascinated of our love of aquatic mosses as we are intrigued about their scientific names. The more mosses we can give to him, the better we will understand these lovely plants. If you have some special moss in your tank with scientific name unknown, I appeal to you to send some to me and I will give it to Dr Tan. In exchange, I will give you the mosses (Christmas, Erect and Java) I have in my tanks. Thank you.

In closing, I would like to thank Gan Cheong Weei for setting up the meeting with Dr Benito Tan. If it had not been for Gan, we would never have met the expert.

Loh K L

Part II -->>

[Green Baron]

Thanks KL for the detailed account of our meeting with Dr Tan and explanation and photos of the various mosses. It was really fascinating to look at the various mosses under microscope, especially with Dr Tan pointing out the unique characteristics of each moss and why they belong to certain genus. What I learnt today is that it is unreliable to ID mosses without a powerful microscope !

We will be working closely with Dr Tan to identify the various aquatic mosses and clear once and for all the confusion over their common and scientific name. So if you see capsules on your Java moss or have mosses that look different from those in the above article, please contact us.

Gan

[TS168]

Thanks for the effort of Mr Loh , Dr Tan and the team who meet up DR Tan.

I do believe christmas moss also have at least 2 variant. One is the small leave type and the other the longer frond type.
I did came across a plant book at a LFS and it state the orgin of christmas moss from mexico.

Am looking forward for more information on this topic. As it a very interesting due to the many variant that we have came across.

Cheers.

[hwchoy]

Prof Tan for you, timebomb

Teck Song, you mean the book specifically states "Christmas Moss"? Well you might know that name is manufactured by none other than Kwek Leong, and while we didn't know it then, we now know that the Christmas moss is a Vesicularia sp. which is a tropical genus from this part of the world Could very well be native to Singapore.

[aquaturbo]

This forum is getting very interesting.

After reading the previous posts on finding moss in Singapore, I've done some moss hunting. Finally, find a whole patch of in right under my nose, I mean right under my block.

So if the following is Vesicularia according to Dr Tan, then definitely it has produced lots of capsule.


The following is a closeup after I washed away the soil.



So if this moss is of any use, let me know.


Tan SW

[hwchoy]

we are looking for capsules of Java Moss.

[DJ]

"You may be surprised, just as I was, that as far as identifying mosses are concerned, looks count for little. The way Dr Tan goes about identifying the mosses, heck, he doesn't even pay attention to the shapes of the fronds. How they grow in our tanks, whether upright or hanging down, count for even less. Dr Tan goes deep down into the cellular level; he looks at the structure of the cells under a powerful microscope. The sizes and shapes of the cells are an indication of genus. To confirm the species, he has to look at the spores."

Oh, boy. This is interesting -- but kinda bad! If we don't have a Dr. Tan to look at our moss we just have to tell people "I have some moss in my tank, don't ask me what kind -- you can't tell by looking at it."

I have two different pieces of driftwood with moss on them. One I thought was Christmas Moss and the other Java Moss. To tell the truth, if I didn't know which wood I put which on I could not tell the difference -- they look the same to me. I guess sometimes I think one is a very-slightly-darker-green, maybe.

Well, I guess it's better to look dumb (have no idea what kind of moss I have in my tank) than to act ignorant. :)

So LKL, when is your book about moss coming out?

DJ

[hwchoy]

So LKL, when is your book about moss coming out?

DJ

actually Prof Tan is writing one

[A.Rashid]

Wow KL,

What you wrote and had discovered is really fascinating....so now we all know.... Thank KL and the team and also to Dr Tan...

[Green Baron]

According to Prof Tan, there are 4 species of Vesicularia in Singapore; and we have seen three of them, namely Xmas Moss, Erect Moss and what we call HDB/Bk Timah Moss. Even though LFS may have bought Xmas Moss & Erect Moss from Taiwan/Europe, they are however native to the tropics !

A second point Prof Tan mentioned is that semi-aquatic moss such as Vesicularia sp only have sex and produce capsules when they are emersed. That is why we see capsules only in emersed form that we buy from LFS. Once we grown them submersed, they will no longer produce capsules though they will continue to grow. Aquatic moss such as Java Moss however have sex and produce capsules under water.

[Green Baron]

Oh, boy. This is interesting -- but kinda bad! If we don't have a Dr. Tan to look at our moss we just have to tell people "I have some moss in my tank, don't ask me what kind -- you can't tell by looking at it."

I have two different pieces of driftwood with moss on them. One I thought was Christmas Moss and the other Java Moss. To tell the truth, if I didn't know which wood I put which on I could not tell the difference -- they look the same to me. I guess sometimes I think one is a very-slightly-darker-green, maybe.

While it is true that we need examine them under microsope to be 100% sure of the species, we can however to tell Java Moss from Xmas Moss or Erect Moss with our naked eye.

[timebomb]

A second point Prof Tan mentioned is that semi-aquatic moss such as Vesicularia sp only have sex and produce capsules when they are emersed. That is why we see capsules only in emersed form that we buy from LFS. Once we grown them submersed, they will no longer produce capsules though they will continue to grow. Aquatic moss such as Java Moss however have sex and produce capsules under water.

Cheong Weei,

I'm not sure if that's what Prof Tan said as my memory tend to be fuzzy sometimes but as far as I know, the Christmas Moss which we now know to be a species of Vesicularia will throw up capsules whether they are grown emersed or submersed. Here are 2 pics of the Christmas Moss with many capsules among their fronds. The first picture shows the Moss grown submersed in my main tank as a moss wall and the second picture shows the Moss grown emersed on a piece of driftwood.






It's obvious from the 2 pictures that when it comes to sex, the Christmas Moss isn't fussy about being in wet or dry conditions

As for the Java Moss found locally, Prof Tan said they carry both male and female sexual organs. But for reasons unknown, the female organs abort themselves whenever they are fertilised by the sperm cells from the male organs. Aborted organs cannot transform into capsules. The capsules are the missing link Prof Tan needs to make a positive identification. I examined all the Java Mosses I have this morning but I couldn't find a single capsule among them. Please try looking at those in your tanks. If only someone can come up with a single Java Moss capsule, it will solve another great mystery.

Loh K L

[timebomb]

So if this moss is of any use, let me know.

Tan SW,

I think what you found is the species of Vesicularia that's growing everywhere in Singapore. But we now know that appearances can be deceiving so I could very well be wrong again. Just try and grow them submersed in your tanks and if they survive, chances are it's a Vesicularia

Loh K L

[timebomb]

Folks,

What you all may not have noticed in my first post is that the Taiwan Moss remains unidentified. Prof Tan wasn't sure about the genus name of this plant during the meeting. He needs more time to make a positive identification. It may be a problem because the sample I gave him does not carry capsules. So if you have Taiwan Moss with capsules, please let us know about it. Thank you.

Loh K L

[hwchoy]

As for the Java Moss found locally, Prof Tan said they carry both male and female sexual organs. But for reasons unknown, the female organs abort themselves whenever they are fertilised by the sperm cells from the male organs. Aborted organs cannot transform into capsules. The capsules are the missing link Prof Tan needs to make a positive identification. I examined all the Java Mosses I have this morning but I couldn't find a single capsule among them. Please try looking at those in your tanks. If only someone can come up with a single Java Moss capsule, it will solve another great mystery.

Loh K L

You know it could simply mean that we have a Java moss (Taxiphyllum spp.) mutant that is infertile, and ALL our Java moss are the vegetatively reproduced from that single plant

[timebomb]

You know it could simply mean that we have a Java moss (Taxiphyllum spp.) mutant that is infertile, and ALL our Java moss are the vegetatively reproduced from that single plant

Heng Wah,

You know, if that is proven true, it will be a sad day for all Singaporeans. As it is, we have a reputation for not being very active with our sex lives. To think that our plants don't have sex either. Sigh........

Loh K L

[Green Baron]

Cheong Weei,

I'm not sure if that's what Prof Tan said as my memory tend to be fuzzy sometimes but as far as I know, the Christmas Moss which we now know to be a species of Vesicularia will throw up capsules whether they are grown emersed or submersed. Here are 2 pics of the Christmas Moss with many capsules among their fronds. The first picture shows the Moss grown submersed in my main tank as a moss wall and the second picture shows the Moss grown emersed on a piece of driftwood.

Interesting, must get Prof Tan to investigate !
I noticed the capsules in my Taiwan moss (from NA) are fom the emersed leaves and submersed leaves don't have any capsules.

[hwchoy]

a little backgrounder on the expert we consulted.

[Green Baron]

Folks,

What you all may not have noticed in my first post is that the Taiwan Moss remains unidentified. Prof Tan wasn't sure about the genus name of this plant during the meeting. He needs more time to make a positive identification. It may be a problem because the sample I gave him does not carry capsules. So if you have Taiwan Moss with capsules, please let us know about it. Thank you.

Also note that the 'Taiwan Moss' in KL's photo is different from the 'Taiwan/Mini Moss' that NA sells. I have the one from NA and will be passing it to Prof Tan this weekend. If any of you have the 'Taiwan/Mini Moss' that Jason sells, pls pass some (preferbly with capsules) to us so that we can have it ID as well.

Gan

Gan

[hwchoy]

Heng Wah,

You know, if that is proven true, it will be a sad day for all Singaporeans. As it is, we have a reputation for not being very active with our sex lives. To think that our plants don't have sex either. Sigh........

Loh K L

it's OK, it still managed to proliferate right entirely in keeping with our character. :wink: