Lookdown at the lookout

If you, like me till a relative moment ago, think cryptogam means a leg with a secret, see The Australian National Botanic Gardens' fascinating Other Cryptogams.

Slightly jargonish but informative nonetheless, is Lichen Biology, part of the University of Sydney's extensive "Fungal Biology".

But "Other?" you say. Never fear. As Other Cryptogams says, "...even experienced bryologists occasionally get confused."

Bryologists now!
If you're confused by that (and who isn't, except for some other -ologists) go get unconfused and potentially obnoxiously informed, by The Australian National Botanic Gardens'
Bryophytes: the world of hornworts, liverworts and mosses



A fantastic field guide
I highly recommend A Field Guide to the mosses and allied plants of southern Australia by David Meagher and Bruce Fuhrer, published by (and available from) the Australian Biological Resources Study and The Field Naturalists Club of Victoria. The pictures are just what this amateur needs, and the thrill of being able to stick little bits of "found this" paper in the book is something I don't have words for. Especially the 'rare' capsule, about which possibly more, later.

And finally, a confession
Though my knees are dirty from crawling, I confess to be horridly disappointed that I have not yet found (or recognised?) a hornwort.