Ferns, mosses, clubmoss, liverworts (Non-flowering plants )
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. This alga grows on the rocks at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge. It seems to prefer cold, running water. Often I am unable to find it in the late summer. Algae are often slimy due to a slime covering on the cells. This is why it is so hard to walk down a boat ramp or on rocks in a stream! Some algae can impart an unpleasant smell and taste to water, others can poison ponds and lakes due to toxins they produce and release into the water. This stuff is so slimy I usually take a long pair of forceps (tweezers) to remove it from the rocks. Why would I want to collect it, you may wonder? It is very lovely to look at under a microscope! I use it in my microbiology classes. The kids are often suprised to see how pretty simple "pond scum" can be! See the following picture of it through a microscope.
This Close-up of Liverwort shows the pores in the surface of the thallus.
"Running Ground Cedar" Lycopodium - a club moss; Lycopodium digitatum
This plant grew to tree-size millions of years before the dinosuars lived. The fossils of Lycopodium can be found in the rocks in the coal mines on the Cumberland Plateau. The light brown spore cases produce massive amounts of spores in the fall. Due to their high flammability, photographers once used them as flash powder for late 19th early 20th century cameras. Because it is an evergreen plant, Early settlers collected and sold the vine to make festive Christmas decorations. The genus name means "wolf's foot", somebody had a really weird imagination on that one! The next photo shows a close relative, the Ground Pine lycopodium.
Moss and a mushroom
moss
Christmas Fern; Polystichum acrostichoides
These common woodland ferns are "evergreen," the fronds do not die back in the winter like some other ferns. Many ferns produce spores in sori on the underside of the pinnae ("leaves") for reproduction.
, one of the most primitive of organisms. Some scientists believe these organisms produced the first oxygen for Earth's early atmosphere. Nostoc is also a nitrogen fixer, it can take N2 from the air to be used in symbiotic relationships with mosses, ferns, lichens and other fungi. This kind grows on the ground. It is soft and mushy when it is wet, when it is dry it is black, and brittle.
Horsetails; Scouring Rushes; Equusetum spp.
These unusual plants are considered "Living Fossils," their much larger ancient ancestors pre-date the dinosaurs. Their fossils can be found in the Cumberland Mountains and in shale deposits on the Cumberland Plateau. They are not blooming plants; they make spores, not seeds.
Shining Club-moss; Huperzia lucidula
Great Smoky Mountains NP July 12, 2007 I found these club-moss plants while participating in a sensory awareness activity in the Smokies. Notice the small flat strucures at the top of each shoot. These are reproductive bodies called gemmae, which can break off and form new plants. Club-mosses are ancient plants that date back to the time before the dinosaurs.
Moss
Moss Spore caps
Resurrection or Little Gray Polypody; Pleopeltis polypoioides
This photo shows the fern when it is growing in damp conditions. The yellow spheres contain the spores.
Horsetails are a "living fossil." They contain silica, which gives them their distinctive scratchy texture. Like Bracken Ferns, they contain thiaminase and are poisonous to horses.
Moss spore caps
Spore caps of moss.
Adder's Tongue Fern; Ophioglossum
spp. Frozen Head SP April 21, 2007 David, the head ranger at Frozen Head, told me about seeing this unusual fern along one of the trails. He took me and 2 other rangers to show us what they look like. I had just lead a hike along that trail and didn't see them! This fern has a single leaf and a stalk with the spore cases.
Southern Grape Fern; Botrychium biternatum
Great Smoky Mountains NP Sept. 16, 2007 Unlike most other ferns that produce spores under the pinnae ("leaves"), this fern has its spores on a single stalk.
, they contain small pieces of plant tissue that can be removed by raindrops to generate new liverworts.
Ground Pine Lycopodium; Lycopodium obscurum
Note how the plant differs from the previous lycopodium.
Appalachian Fir Club-moss; Huperzia appalachiana
Club mosses are ancient plants whose early ancestors date back long before the dinosaurs. You'll have to do some high elevation hiking or drive to Clingmans Dome to see this plant because it grows above 6,000 feet (which is very high for Tennessee). I photographed this plant on the trail to Charlie's Bunion in the Smokies.
moss
Bracken fern; Pteridium aquilinum
These ferns are very common in waste areas in the southeast. It is poisonous to humans, pigs, sheep, horses, cattle. The principal toxin is thiaminase, a chemical that splits thiamine (vitamin B1).
Sensitive Fern; Onoclea sensibilis
This fern is common in damp woods.