Moss Propagation in Glacier National Park’s Native Plant Nursery

Abstract

Four species of moss (Hylocomium splendens Crum [Hylocomiacea], Rhytidiopsis robusta Lawton [Hylocomiacea], Dicranum scoparium Lawton [Dicranaceae], and Mnium lycopodiodes Crum [Mniaceae]) were grown from spores and fragmented gametophyte shoots in Glacier National Park’s Native Plant Nursery. All 4 species were propagated using a blended slurry of moss spores, moss fragments, sterilized soil, and distilled water. The slurry was poured onto sterilized EcoCompost, and growth of protonema, an early stage of the gametophyte generation, occurred after 20 to 30 d. Moss shoots appeared approximately 60 d after propagation with leaves developing shortly after the shoots. All 4 species were successfully propagated, with the best results occurring in Hylocomium splendens and Rhytidiopsis robusta. After greenhouse growth and hardening in an outdoor shadehouse, mosses were outplanted.