Chapter 21: The Diversity of PlantsBizarre Facts in Biology |
The common names of some organisms may imply they're something entirely different from what they really are. Two such examples are reindeer moss and Spanish moss. Based on the common names, one might conclude the organisms in question are in the plant group of bryophytes and are therefore nonvascular plants with dominant gametophytes. Lace lichen, which is sometimes mistakenly called Spanish moss, only adds to the confusion.
Reindeer moss is like lace lichen because it is actually a lichen. It is also formed by the symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an alga. The range of this lichen is quite extensive, but it is an especially important component of the tundra biome.
Spanish moss is actually an angiosperm. It produces tiny flowers and after fertilization a seed-containing pod forms. The seeds have a winglike structure which allows them to be caught by the wind and blown to another tree branch. Spanish moss is an epiphyte, meaning it grows on the surface of other plants. If you're still wondering how an angiosperm came to be called a moss, it's because the French and their rival Spanish explorers taunted each other with names based on the Native American name for the plant that eventually were shorted to "graybeard" and "Spanish moss."