Organic Nutrition of Some Mosses Growing in Pure Culture

Abstract

Compared with the extensive floristic studies on mosses, the physiology of this group has been neglected. A few references to the literature of bryophyte morphogenesis and physiology will be mentioned here for orientation. At the beginning of this century, the Marchals (1906) studied sexuality in mosses grown in a chemically defined medium. More recently, Fries (1945) investigated the growth of Funaria and Leptobryum in nutrient solutions containing glucose and ammonium tartrate. Light was found to be necessary for the initiation of buds and formation of chlorophyll. Servettaz (1913) experimented with growth of Atrichumin undulatiimn and other species in pure cultures supplied with peptone and various sugars. Some growth of protonemata was observed even in darkness. Robbins (1918) noted starch formation and growth in protonemata of Ceratodon purpureus supplied with soluble carbohydrates in the dark. No leafy shoots grew in darkness, but prolific development of typical moss plants occurred in the light. Differences in growth response of various species of mosses kept in darkness on media containing sugar, peptones, amino acids and yeast autolysate have been reported by the Pringsheims (1935). Species of Ceratodon and Funaria used glycine, alanine, leucine, asparagine, yeast autolysate and decomposition products of proteins. Chlorophyll in the protonemata diminished with time in darkness. Light was found to be necessary for the development of typical moss plants. Richards (1947) and Berrie (1951) have reported on the general conditions favorable for gross cultivation of mosses.