
| Title | Summary | Date | ID | Author(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawn Moss: Friend or Foe? | PDF (2MB) |
There are thousands of species of moss worldwide. These very simple plants lack the typical leaf, shoot, root, and seed-forming systems of most higher plants; however, they are some of the hardiest living organisms on the planet (Figure 1). Lawn moss can reproduce sexually (spores, etc.) or asexually (breaking off into smaller pieces that divide and multiply), and their numbers can increase rapidly under the right conditions. They are tolerant of extremely low mowing, so regular clipping of the grass will not remove them. It would seem that these plants would not offer much resistance to our efforts to manage or control them, but as Mother Nature often shows, their simplicity in design and function correlates well with their ability to colonize and persist in some of the most inhospitable growing conditions around your property: sidewalks, driveways, and yes – the lawn. |
May 1, 2009 | 430-536 |