Bloedel Moss Garden
Darren Strenge
I’ve been taking care of the moss garden at the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island since 2017. With help from volunteers, I have been trying to document and photograph the moss and liverwort species found at the Bloedel Reserve. The form and variety of mosses rivals that of the vascular plants but on a more Lilliputian scale. Exploring that miniature world has been as fascinating as any other botanical foray.
— Darren Strenge
Deer fern (Struthiopteris spicant, formerly in the genus Blechnum), a common native fern.
Juniper haircap moss (Polytrichum juniperinum).
Frog Pelt (Peltigera sp.), a common lichen in shady forests.
Menzies’s tree moss (Leucolepis acanthoneuron). Named after Archibald Menzies who collected specimens of this moss while botanizing the Puget Sound region in 1790’s as part of Captain George Vancouver’s expedition on the HMS Discovery.
Snake liverwort (Coniocephalum conicum). The common name derives from the thallus’s superficial resemblance to snake skin.
Silvergreen bryum moss (Bryum argenteum), a diminutive moss of rock and parking lots. The penny is provided for scale. New growth lacks chlorophyll and appears silvery.
Maidenhair Spleenwort (Aslpenium trichomanes), a fern with a delicate beauty that hides a tough cold and drought tolerant spirit.
Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria), a very photogenic mushroom appearing in September and October.