''Funaria hygrometrica'', the bonfire moss or common cord-moss, is a type of water moss which grows on shady, moist soil. It can also be found on moist walls and the crevices of rocks and places where recent fires have taken place. It has been reported to grow in

Niagara Cave Niagara Cave is a limestone cave located in Harmony, Minnesota. The cave is approximately 200 feet (61 m) deep; features include an underground stream, 60-foot waterfall, fossils, stalactites and stalagmites. The cave is privately owned, with ...

, an artificially illuminated cave devoid of natural light. Under such conditions, its growth form changes so that the internodes lengthen and the

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

become longer and narrower. The plant body is green, soft and upright, about half an inch tall. The rhizoids present in this species are multi-cellular and branched. They have oblique septa. The main axis of the plant, which is upright, bears a set of spirally arranged, sessile leaves having a clearly distinguishable midrib. Funaria_hygrometrica_TK_2022-04-30_5

At the apex of the main plant axis, the antheridium is borne. This is the male part of the shoot. A lateral branch from the main plant axis bears the female shoot

archegonium An archegonium (pl: archegonia), from the ancient Greek ''ἀρχή'' ("beginning") and ''γόνος'' ("offspring"), is a multicellular structure or organ of the gametophyte phase of certain plants, producing and containing the ovum or female ga ...

at its meristem. Experiments have shown that F. hygrometrica can withstand water with 90% heavy water.

References

External links

* http://worldofmosses.com/paintings/mosspics03.html * http://www.eol.org/pages/923991 Funariales Taxa named by Johann Hedwig {{bryophyte-stub