Sex in the garden

There's a little hanky panky going on right behind the Wildflower Labyrinth. At present, as you can see from the photo, the boys and girls are keeping to their respective sides of the rock. But just as sure as our vigilance wanes, probably during an early summer rain storm when our attention is concentrated elsewhere, these two are going to complete their natural cycle. Here's what's going on:

 Male, Female Hairy-cap Moss

 The two masses of thick, spongy moss on the rock are Polytrichum, Hairy-cap Moss. On one side of the rock is the female moss and on the other side is the male moss. In the spring, raindrops splash the sperm from the male shoots to the female shoots where they travel to the egg. Later in the summer, spores are released and carried by the wind to habitats where they can germinate and the process starts all over again.

Female Hair-cap Moss sporophytes

It's called a Hairy-cap Moss for the miniature hairy cap that covers the spores of the female sporophytes. The spores grow in a small capsule at the top of a slender stalk that rises above the green moss (see close up). The males have a cup-shaped rosette at their tips where the sperm producing organs are found (see close up).

If you find a bed of Hairy-cap Moss with its reproductive structures still intact, you can carefully remove one of the little caps and see for yourself why the moss has been given its name.

 Male Hairy-cap Moss               (mouse over photos for ID)