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[[File:Antarctic_Moss.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Moss at Esperanza Station, Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula]] | [[File:Antarctic_Moss.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Moss at Esperanza Station, Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula]] | ||
''Moss'' is one of the few forms of plant life occurring naturally in [[Westarctica]]. It is a small flowerless plant that typically grows in dense green clumps or mats. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilization develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores. | '''Moss''' is one of the few forms of plant life occurring naturally in [[Westarctica]]. It is a small flowerless plant that typically grows in dense green clumps or mats. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilization develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores. | ||
==Prevalence== | ==Prevalence== | ||
About 100 species of moss have been recorded in [[Antarctica]]. | About 100 species of moss have been recorded in [[Antarctica]]. | ||
Like [[ | Like [[lichen]], mosses can be found in almost all areas capable of supporting plant life in Westarctica, though they most often occur in areas with exposed rock. | ||
==Biology== | ==Biology== | ||
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Mosses are also quite sensitive to atmospheric pollution from distant sources. Traces of DDT and other chemicals have been detected in Antarctic mosses. | Mosses are also quite sensitive to atmospheric pollution from distant sources. Traces of DDT and other chemicals have been detected in Antarctic mosses. | ||
[[Category:Plants of Westarctica]] | [[Category:Plants of Westarctica]] | ||