Woodland Mosses for Beginners

Learn more about the complex lives and identification of mosses.

About the event

There are 750 species of mosses recorded in Britain.  They are found in many habitats but the most rewarding habitats, especially for the beginner, are woodlands.  Woodlands produce a good variety of large and attractive bryophytes.

This course is an introduction to the basic structure of mosses and to their unusual life cycle.  You will look at key identification features, focusing on those that can be used in the field using a x 10 (or x 20) hand lens, for identifying the top 20 most common woodland mosses.

The morning will be spent in the classroom at Tyland Barn where the main focus will be on how to identify the most common woodland mosses, using characteristics that are observable with a hand lens.

In the afternoon we will travel 23 miles to Knock Wood, near Tenterden, where you will practise ID skills in the field.  Knock Wood is a brilliant site for mosses as it has a good variety and nice ‘large’ patches of most specimens.  We do not provide transport so you will need to make your own travel arrangements to get to Knock Wood in the afternoon and we will encourage shared transport where feasible.

Completing this course should enable you to acquire a basic knowledge of mosses and how to identify a range of the more common species found in Kent’s woodlands.  It is hoped that you will also gain the inspiration to pursue the subject further.

Led by Ros Bennett, Botanist

Suitable for beginners and improvers