Green Light Images

The Bryophyte Gallery

Sphagnum

Sphagnum papillosum

Stacked photomicrograph of a single leaf showing hyaline and chlorophyllous leaf details. Raised bog on the Braes of Fowlis, west of Perth.
Plagiochila

Plagiochila spinulosa

Growing at the base of a tree trunk in Machar Glen, Killearn. Note spines on leaves.
Fissidens

Fissidens taxifolius

Growing on a low muddy bank beside Machar Burn in an area of Birch woodland. Near Killearn, Stirlingshire.
Racomitrium

Racomitrium aciculare

Collected during a bryophyte recording excursion in Aberdeenshire in 2011.
Hookeria

Hookeria luscens

The large leaf cells are evident on the leaves of this moss. Deciduous woodland near Alford, Peterculter, Aberdeenshire.
Palustriella

Palustriella commutata

This succulent moss formed luxuriant patches in the calcareous burn flowing into the marsh below Crichton Kirk, Midlothian.
Racomitrium

Racomitrium ericoides

Growing on a track in Cushnie Forest near Alford Bridge, Aberdeenshire.
Blasia

Blasia pusilla

Globular yellow masses of gemmae borne on elongate stem-like podia. The small dark lumps on the thallus are colonies of the cyanobacterium, Nostoc.
Sphagnum

Sphagnum subnitens

Mature capsules whose apical "lid" has been shed. Mossy bank above Daer Reservoir, South Lanarkshire.
Pogonatum

Pogonatum urnigerum

Note the bluish-green leaves with coarse, transparent, forward-pointing teeth on their margins. Graveyard at Elvanfoot Church, South Lanarkshire.
Grimmia

Grimmia laevigata

This interesting species formed extensive mats looking like rabbit fur, on the dolerite crags at Kirkton Hill, Perth.
Ptilidium

Ptilidium ciliare

A golden liverwort forming a carpet on the more stony surface areas of dry Calluna moorland. North-east side of Dodd Hill, Angus.
Andreaea

Andreaea sp.

The spores are released via the four longitudinal splits on the capsules. Growing on a rock at the foot of Loudoun Hill, Ayrshire.
Grimmia

Grimmia pulvinata

Mature capsules on a patch forming low-growing turfs on rocks at Gullane Point, East Lothian.
Syntrichia

Syntrichia ruralis ssp. ruraliformis

Growing in one of the hollows of the sand dunes at Aberlady Bay, East Lothian, where Marram Grass is less dominant.
Riccia

Riccia sorocarpa

Quite common on the sandy soil of a stubble field on the outskirts of Auchenblae, Kincardineshire.
Hyocomium

Hyocomium armoricum

Forming large tufts and small carpets on rocks in Machar Glen, Killearn, Stirlingshire.
Tritophylla

Trichocolea tomentella

This striking liverwort was growing on the lower surface of a fallen tree trunk in Machar Glen, Killearn, Stirlingshire.