Moss Compendium

[Martin]

Stephan, you almost make it sound personal..

I am actually leaning towards what has been proposed..

That Taxiphyllum barbieri is, was, will be: Javamoss.
Bogor moss doesn't really ring anyway ...
Now naming Vesucularia dubyana with a different common name than java and Singapore, is another matter completely.

You are right that the list isn't complete.. at all.. I am trying to compile a complete(as complete as it can get) list. It takes time, and a lot of corrections.

As has been mentioned so many times before, the latin name is what is important, and really what we should be using.
Common names are just easier because the words are easier.
Platyhypnidium riparioides.. I mean.. say it 10 times fast.. :P

I actually already new that the name was only a synonym.. Apparently I forgot because I still have my moss tagged with Rhynchostegium.

The article you linked to is known to me, and the first part is worth a good read. The rest is less important.


Looking at the mosses being sold by aquatic magic and a few others is good yes, but...

1. you never know what moss you'll actually receive.. He sometimes ..mislabels stuff.
2. some mosses sold are actually terrestrial.

Now looking through killies reveals a lot of good moss info, and still the nr. 1 source!

Loh, I would agree. Changing the world is quite hard. Perhaps it is better to "go with the flow" and keep the widely accepted names in use.
Especially java!!


Stephan, would you be interested in parting with a small sample of the true pellia?
I'd love to include it in my collection. I can trade you other mosses and/or plants.

[imported_stephan]

1) Names
I have nothing personal agaist Ms Kasselmann. She has the best books on aquarium plants and takes the hobby very seriously in a typically German way. But it is a hobby and not a scientific community so the rules of taxonomy which we learnt at school cannot be applied or enforced. One of the first rules we learnt at university is that when a scientist describes and names a plant in latin, that name sticks forever. Only if someone else has already named the same plant or one in the same genus will the name be dropped for the earlier one.

Apparently Ms Kasselmann is applying these scientific principles to the common language(s). Intentions may be good (and scientifically based) but unfortunately that is not how spoken languages work. If a Maltese guy from 1000 years ago was to hear the Maltese language today I am sure he would not understand most of what I say.


2) Pellia endiviifolia is a terrestrial plant living in moist calcareous habitats and is quite common throughout Europe. It is also a very slow grower unlike M tenerum. I have not tried it underwater and still have very little, but if still interested, Martin send me a pm with your email address.

3) 'Plants may be terrestrial in the wild but prove good aquarium plants, while plants which are aquatic in the wild may not survive in the aquarium.'
There are various reasons for this which I will not go into here but I would be interested in any mosses 'claimed' to be good aquarium plants. A good example is the 'star' aka 'cement' moss which is being sold. (its not Tortula ruralis btw). I am growing it very nicely submerged even though I've heard many say its terrestrial or dies when submerged. But in the right conditions and if one waits a while it becomes a very pretty aquarium plant.

regards to all