The Resiliency of Mosses
Winter is clingy. It sticks to our boots, freezes to our driveways, and overstays its welcome long into spring. The grayness creates a bleak landscape of bare branches and empty fields, but there is still greenness to be found. Brush off an old log to see a patch of moss tucked contentedly beneath its blanket of snow.
Anyone who lives in Maine during the winter knows you have to be adaptable and resilient to survive here, and mosses are no exception. Despite having leaves that are just one cell thick and no roots to speak of, mosses thrive here in winter. In fact, they thrive in nearly every habitat on Earth, from rocky deserts to rainforest canopies to sidewalk cracks. They even make their homes on the granite ledges and pigeon-favored windowsills of cities.
Mosses grow in colonies, and owe their success to their neighbors. Each stalk is an individual that would quickly dry out if it stood alone, and mosses cannot grow without direct access to water. Since they lack roots, mosses depend on their leaves to absorb all the water and nutrients they need. Packed tightly together in a colony, mosses share moisture across their tiny leaves. A community of mosses holds onto water for far longer than one stalk would.
Though mosses’ smallness seems like a shortcoming, their stature allows them to live within the boundary layer- the space where atmosphere and earth meet. The friction of wind against land slows air movement and insulates this space, trapping heat and humidity. Even on a well-below-freezing day, mosses may be soaked in liquid water due to the protection of the boundary layer.
Their size also allows mosses to live in spaces where bigger plants cannot grow- a damp rock face, a shaded log, the lip of a fountain. Many mosses even have chlorophyll that’s designed to capture the dim light that filters through the forest canopy, like an ever-vigilant dog catching crumbs underneath the dinner table. Because they don’t have to compete with other plants, slow-growing mosses can take a more leisurely lifestyle.
With all their strength and ingenuity, it’s no wonder these little plants endure Maine winters with such ease. In many ways, these traits echo those of the people who endure winters here. Perhaps we can learn from mosses, who thrive by sharing resources with their communities and finding spaces where their unique characteristics are strengths.
-by Skye Cahoon
