I am out visiting my daughter in rainy Portland, Oregon and yes moss is everywhere. This vibrant flowerless plant that grows in dense green clumps and adorns every crevice, wall, roof and sidewalk makes this city even more beautiful. In the damp Pacific Northwest moss is allowed to grow as your typical lawn and grass is often the weed. How interesting!
They say that there are probably over 12,000 species of moss and some believe moss dates back over 470 million years ago. They explain this juicy bit of ancient history by explaining how the Ordovician ice ages occurred when carbon dioxide from the atmosphere extracted minerals by releasing organic acids that then dissolved onto rocks. Fast forward to present time and now we have this stunningly beautiful vascular system that carpets Mother earth.
When I am out foraging for moss nothing gives me greater happiness then working with this ancient sweet layer of the earth. I like to use moss in my enclosed terrariums to add a sense of being in the woods on a rainy day.