Nebraskaland

moss (Hedwigia ciliata) growing on the roof of an old restroom. This was only the second collection of the species in Nebraska. "Because their spores are wind-blown, bryophytes can show up in unexpected places or have wide distributions," said Sutherland. "Many of our moss species, for example, are also found in Europe and Asia." This past summer, the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission assisted the bryophyte project by hiring botanist Bob Steinauer to collect mosses in western Nebraska habitats including North Platte River alkaline meadows, Sandhills fens and seeps and Panhandle escarpments. He found the highest moss diversity at Carter Canyon in the western Wildcat Hills and on the Warbonnet Ranch in the western Pine Ridge. Both are cool, high-elevation sites for Nebraska and have varied moss habitats including wet canyon bottoms, rock outcrops and pine and deciduous woods. Several hundred specimens were collected during the survey, among them the rare (for Nebraska) wiry fern moss (Abietinella abietina), slender candlesnuffer moss (Encalypta procera), rolled-leaf pigtail moss (Hypnum revolutum) and hook-beak tufa-moss (Hymenostylium recurvirostrum). The specimens were deposited at the UNO, UNL and CSC herbariums. "For botanists, collecting bryophytes is the easy part, but some species are a real struggle to identify," said Sutherland. "You need a good compound microscope and a really good set of eyes." To identify most species one must distinguish minute features with complex names, such as the peristome, calyptra and perichaetial leaves, and tediously work through technical keys. It is not a job for the untrained. Although Sutherland and his cohorts found several new moss species for the state during their recent surveys, perhaps more important is what they did not find. "In the 1940s, Kiener collected 10 species of liverworts in the genus Riccia growing on wet shorelines in Nebraska, but we have found only three species," said Sutherland. "Riccia frostii he described as common throughout the state. We have looked, but cannot find it. Maybe we are looking in the wrong places, but my guess is that our aquatic systems are changing. Perhaps agricultural chemicals have caused the Riccias to vanish." Many bryophyte species are sensitive to water and air pollution and, like a canary in the coal mine, their disappearance may be a warning that all is not well with our environment. ■ This Dakota sandstone boulder in shaded oak woods in Jefferson County is habitat for several rock-loving moss species. The umbrella liverwort (Marchantia polymorpha) grows streamside on the Niobrara Valley Preserve. The flat green structures are thalli, while the palm tree-shaped structures are archegoniophores which contain the eggs. PHOTOS ON THIS PAGE BY GERRY STEINAUER MARCH 2017 • NEBRASKAland 39

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