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Re: moss
Tom wrote:
"I like the name Xmas moss myself. Of course you could call it Tom-moss:)"
Oh God, another egomaniac!
<G>
Given the choice of "Christmas Moss" and "Tom Moss", I'll side with Loh and
accept Christmas Moss as the "common name"....hehehehhe......at least its
honestly descriptive of the growth habit of the moss.
"I think there's over 100 species but squawking about what constitutes a
species is well, a can of worms really. My definition of what a species IS
is "who can yell the loudest".
You're probably right, at least until the price for the equipment required
for DNA sequencing comes down enough so that a hobbyist can have it next to
their PC.....<g>
But this isn't a new question - APD posts going back to at least 1996
question the differences between the 2 types of moss (Fontinalis vs.
Vesicularia). And while it might not matter much in the case of actually
growing the moss in an aquarium (other than the reported temperature
preferences for the different types), it is the same underlying question
which causes people to seek out books on aquatic plants where the authors
get the classification right (or at least up to date). One of the major
criticisms of TFH's book (Rataj) was its use of outdated classification.
I just think that its important that we are all "on the same page" so to
speak, when we are talking about a particular plant, at least as far as is
possible. If you say something about "xxx" it would be helpful if everyone
knew which plant you were referring to. All joking aside, there isn't
anything anal about that. And such discussions _are_ appropriate for the
list - it really matters little who is the loudest.
James Purchase
Toronto