George R. L. Greiff
@ilichenmoss2.bsky.social
Plant scientist working on PhD at the University of Bristol. Interested in evo-devo and natural history. Microbotanist - bryology and bryo-mycology
A final micrograph for today showing mycelium of an Epibryon sp. fungus inside liverwort cells. Most cells are infected but some in the lower part of the photo are healthy, as evidenced by the absence of hyphae and the presence of oil bodies.
September 23, 2025 at 11:50 AM
A final micrograph for today showing mycelium of an Epibryon sp. fungus inside liverwort cells. Most cells are infected but some in the lower part of the photo are healthy, as evidenced by the absence of hyphae and the presence of oil bodies.
Micrograph of a rhizoid gall caused by a chytrid on Bryum moss. The infected cell contains several zoosporangia, some of which have thread-like exit tubes that release flagellated spores. Chytrids are interesting fungi that mostly lack hyphae and have mobile spores.
September 23, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Micrograph of a rhizoid gall caused by a chytrid on Bryum moss. The infected cell contains several zoosporangia, some of which have thread-like exit tubes that release flagellated spores. Chytrids are interesting fungi that mostly lack hyphae and have mobile spores.
B. scapaniae is closely related to B. gymnomitrii on Gymnomitrium species. Both fungi grow on the lower parts of host shoots. The larger ascomata of the latter make it slightly easier to spot. Both fungi are very rarely recorded.
September 23, 2025 at 10:27 AM
B. scapaniae is closely related to B. gymnomitrii on Gymnomitrium species. Both fungi grow on the lower parts of host shoots. The larger ascomata of the latter make it slightly easier to spot. Both fungi are very rarely recorded.
Great to find the fungus Bryobroma scapaniae on Scapania undulata in Bannau Brycheiniog in Wales a few days ago. I think this is the third ever record of the species, and I see how it is very easy to miss, with the dark fruitbodies disguised against the black host stem. From a rock in a stream.
September 23, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Great to find the fungus Bryobroma scapaniae on Scapania undulata in Bannau Brycheiniog in Wales a few days ago. I think this is the third ever record of the species, and I see how it is very easy to miss, with the dark fruitbodies disguised against the black host stem. From a rock in a stream.
Using one of my favourite bryophyte books to help with my thesis. It is a difficult read, densely packed with all kinds of interesting and almost forgotten information. I must have read it half a dozen times, and each time, I notice something profound that I either missed or didn't understand before
August 13, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Using one of my favourite bryophyte books to help with my thesis. It is a difficult read, densely packed with all kinds of interesting and almost forgotten information. I must have read it half a dozen times, and each time, I notice something profound that I either missed or didn't understand before
It was nice to go for a run past the spot that got me interested in bryophytes 10 years ago when I was staying at my grandfather's place. I was struck by the outerwordly appearance of the liverwort Conocephalum conicum, which was completely covering the wall of this bridge back then.
July 12, 2025 at 7:09 AM
It was nice to go for a run past the spot that got me interested in bryophytes 10 years ago when I was staying at my grandfather's place. I was struck by the outerwordly appearance of the liverwort Conocephalum conicum, which was completely covering the wall of this bridge back then.
The fungi that grow on bryophyte (moss) sporophytes are usually completely different to those on gametophytes. One feature is less apparent specificity in many, where generalists can grow on decaying vascular plants and "woody" moss sporophytes. This is a spore of Pleospora cf. herbarum ... 1/2
April 12, 2025 at 4:38 PM
The fungi that grow on bryophyte (moss) sporophytes are usually completely different to those on gametophytes. One feature is less apparent specificity in many, where generalists can grow on decaying vascular plants and "woody" moss sporophytes. This is a spore of Pleospora cf. herbarum ... 1/2
A hornwort, Phaeoceros laevis, I think, on a seepage. Lovely to see the plant is still abundant at the site.
March 22, 2025 at 8:41 PM
A hornwort, Phaeoceros laevis, I think, on a seepage. Lovely to see the plant is still abundant at the site.
Interesting collection. It does remind of Vezdaea in the first instance but the presence of filamentous paraphyses makes it less certain to me. The black colour is also unexpected. The asci are immature in the zoomed photo. Spores seem ellipsoid. To me, the best Vezdaea to fit is V. stipitata.
February 23, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Interesting collection. It does remind of Vezdaea in the first instance but the presence of filamentous paraphyses makes it less certain to me. The black colour is also unexpected. The asci are immature in the zoomed photo. Spores seem ellipsoid. To me, the best Vezdaea to fit is V. stipitata.
Nice to find a patch of the bryophilous fungus Luteodiscus epibryus on Lepidozia reptans last weekend. It is a lovely species to keep an eye out for on bryophyte-covered rotting wood, especially on liverworts like Nowellia. It has an unusually wide host range, including mosses and liverworts.
February 5, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Nice to find a patch of the bryophilous fungus Luteodiscus epibryus on Lepidozia reptans last weekend. It is a lovely species to keep an eye out for on bryophyte-covered rotting wood, especially on liverworts like Nowellia. It has an unusually wide host range, including mosses and liverworts.
Bryoscyphus dicrani on Ceratodon purpureus. It is probably not very rare, but this was the first time I saw it. Found on Christmas Day last year. Neat little thing.
January 19, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Bryoscyphus dicrani on Ceratodon purpureus. It is probably not very rare, but this was the first time I saw it. Found on Christmas Day last year. Neat little thing.
Great to see a bryophilous fungus, Bryonectria cuneifera, which lives between the lamellae of leaves of the moss Polytrichum formosum. This species has evaded me for nearly 8 years so glad to finally find it.
January 18, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Great to see a bryophilous fungus, Bryonectria cuneifera, which lives between the lamellae of leaves of the moss Polytrichum formosum. This species has evaded me for nearly 8 years so glad to finally find it.
Two moss patches with bleached areas that harbour fungal fruitbodies. Not all such patches have fungi but they are a good indication that something is not quite right with the moss.
December 31, 2024 at 10:10 AM
Two moss patches with bleached areas that harbour fungal fruitbodies. Not all such patches have fungi but they are a good indication that something is not quite right with the moss.
Mniaecia jungermanniae and Lophocolea semiteres male plants spotted on my Christmas Day walk.
December 25, 2024 at 4:05 PM
Mniaecia jungermanniae and Lophocolea semiteres male plants spotted on my Christmas Day walk.
Fantastic to find the bryophilous fungus Octospora mnii today, a new record for the British Isles. I found an ambiguous specimen a few years ago, but this one is unmistakable. It is parasitic on the persistent protonema of the moss Rhizomnium punctatum.
December 14, 2024 at 1:10 PM
Fantastic to find the bryophilous fungus Octospora mnii today, a new record for the British Isles. I found an ambiguous specimen a few years ago, but this one is unmistakable. It is parasitic on the persistent protonema of the moss Rhizomnium punctatum.
Nice to see the very tiny fungus Bryonectria callicarpa today on Frullania dilatata, a species that is practically impossible to see in the field. It forms tiny orange perithecia on the undersides of host plants and causes no obvious symptoms.
December 14, 2024 at 1:00 PM
Nice to see the very tiny fungus Bryonectria callicarpa today on Frullania dilatata, a species that is practically impossible to see in the field. It forms tiny orange perithecia on the undersides of host plants and causes no obvious symptoms.
A nice sample of the rarely recorded bryophilous fungus Epibryon diaphanum (black spots) on the common moss Hypnum cupressiforme.
November 22, 2024 at 5:51 PM
A nice sample of the rarely recorded bryophilous fungus Epibryon diaphanum (black spots) on the common moss Hypnum cupressiforme.
Not fun to see my least favourite plant, ivy, overgrowing a mossy wall. Ivy is an increasing but largely unacknowledged problem, with the capacity to rapidly overgrown and outcompete diverse communities of bryophytes and lichens - on rocks, trees and the ground...
August 30, 2024 at 8:28 PM
Not fun to see my least favourite plant, ivy, overgrowing a mossy wall. Ivy is an increasing but largely unacknowledged problem, with the capacity to rapidly overgrown and outcompete diverse communities of bryophytes and lichens - on rocks, trees and the ground...
Planted up some Marchantia polymorpha fragments from a population outside of my flat for an outreach project. Let's see if they grow!
August 21, 2024 at 7:21 PM
Planted up some Marchantia polymorpha fragments from a population outside of my flat for an outreach project. Let's see if they grow!
Finally, I bit the bullet and moved over from the other place. Posting a celebratory piece of moss parasitised by the fungus Bryorella acrogena! Hoping to (re-)connect with former plant science twitter.
August 13, 2024 at 8:48 PM
Finally, I bit the bullet and moved over from the other place. Posting a celebratory piece of moss parasitised by the fungus Bryorella acrogena! Hoping to (re-)connect with former plant science twitter.