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This moss is commoner further east in California but is known from near Highway 20 in Lake County, California. This specimen was obtained there by B. Mishler and photographed by me soon after collection. March 30th 2012, Image I12-0218
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On the trunk of a tree in Middletown Trailside County Park, Lake County, California, March 29th 2012. image I12-0046
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This moss formed mats on the trunk of an oak tree near Mariah Meadows Resort (in hills Near Cobb, Lake County, California, March 29th 2012). Photographed at home later from a collected piece, this is image I12-0497 (see adjoining image I12-0482 for capsules). The small green specks seen on the upper leaf surfaces are gemmae that enable vegetative propagation (seen best at high resolution in this image).
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This moss formed mats on the trunk of an oak tree near Mariah Meadows Resort (in hills Near Cobb, Lake County, California, March 29th 2012). This photograph was taken at home later from a collected piece to show a young capsule with its calyptra and a mature capsule with its peristome. Image I12-0482.
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This was one of three Syntrichia species collected by Brent Mishler from near Highway 20 in Lake County and photographed by me soon after its collection. March 30th 2012, image I12-0217
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The moss with very long hair points to the leaves (including the plant with the green capsule) is Crossidium squamiferum. Also present are Bryum argenteum (eg near the top, left of center, and the silvery plants to the right of the Crossidium patch); Aloina sp. (two plants with narrow, dark green leaves with incurved margins towards the upper right) and many plants with triangular yellow green leaves that I'm guessing are a Didymodon species (possibly also a second species with larger leaves) - comments welcome. Photographed in situ on a steep south-facing open grassy bank with rock outcrops, in a small valley just west of the north branch of Cache Creek south of where it crosses Highway 20, Lake County, California. March 30th 2012, Image I12-0251
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This small moss was photographed in situ on a drying mud bank along a track running south from Highway 20 near the place where the highway crosses the north fork of Cache Creek, Lake County, California, on March 30th 2012. Thanks to David Toren for the identification. Note that a plant of Syntrichia sp?. can be seen at the right hand edge above the middle. Bryum argenteum, Aloina and two other acrocarps were within inches, and Tortula atrovirens was close by. Image I12-0211.
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This moss was one of three Syntrichia species collected by B. Mishler from near Highway 20 in Lake County and photographed by me near soon after its collection. March 30th 2012, Image I12-0219.
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Photographed in the field at Flying M Ranch, in the eastern Central Valley, Merced County, California, April 6th 2002. On a vertical shaded N-facing semi-overhanging rock face above a stream in otherwise open country; near Adiantum capillus-veneris. Scanned slide 044-721
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Tiny mosses are always a kind of hard for me to identify - many of them are pretty similar and I'm not really willing to spend hours examining cells structure to find out, which species I'm dealing with. But in this case, it was quite easy because of distinctive capsules.You can figure out how small is it keeping in mind that "boulders" in this photo are grains of sand on a surface of concrete block.
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