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Re: Cameron's moss sources
Cameron, your list of possible sources is appreciated but you have to
remember that sometimes, even the growers of these mosses don't have a clue
as to the real scientific name of their plants. Its really not the grower's
fault - many tropical countries have been very poorly surveyed by
Bryologists and even the scientists don't know what plants are there yet.
Sometimes as well, a moss which has already been collected and described by
one scientist will be treated as a new discovery and given a new name by
someone who hasn't properly checked through the historical records. And in
many cases, the original descriptions of many moss species is inadequate and
can cause further confusion. It will be years before all this is sorted out
within the scientific community.
Regarding your pointer to Aquabid - you have to be careful with accepting
any "scientific name" from a forum like that. After you posted your comment,
I went to Aquabid and looked through their listings. I didn't see any mosses
listed for sale but I did find one chap selling Azolla. At least _he_ thinks
he's selling Azolla. The picture he posted showed a bunch of Salvinia. Both
aquatic ferns but definitely not the same thing. A lot depends on the
knowledge and skill of the seller.
Also, many of the companies and individuals we buy plants from are not the
actual people who grow the plants. The big nurseries generally only sell to
wholesalers, who sell to retailers who sell to us. There are many stages
there where a name can go askew and sometimes it just the luck of the draw
what ends up in our tanks. This is certainly not an indictment of folks like
Robert H and Dwight. They have to rely on the people they order their plants
from. Many times I have had a local store place a "special order" for
particular plants which have appeared on their wholesaler's lists and taken
delivery of something quite different. I can't blame the store for the
confusion. Especially in Robert H's and Dwight's cases, they are making it
possible for many people who live in areas where aquatic plants aren't
readily available at a local retail level to get a wide range of aquatic
plants via mail order. I just wish that they shipped to Canada <g>.
Regards,
James Purchase
Toronto