Being a bryologist there was no way I could avoid delving into the marvelous world of mosses and it doesn’t take very long before one stumbles upon a picture of what is possibly the world’s most magnificent moss, Spiridens reinwardtii. The eminent botanist William J. Hooker was so impressed by this moss he used the word ‘noble’ when describing it.

Illustration of Spiridens reinwardtii. In Botanical Miscellany Vol. 1 by William Jackson Hooker, 1831

S. reinwardtii is a forest dwelling moss and appears to have a rather wide distribution. According to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and a few other sources, the moss may be found in Australia, Taipei, French Polynesia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and probably in a number of other Asian countries.

Spiridens reinwardtii climbing up a tree. Photo credit: Vivipanda

S. reinwardtii has a somewhat fan-like lifeform. It grows up tree trunks like a vine but then sends out horizontal and branched shoots which are somewhat parallel to the ground. S. reinwardtii must be the largest moss that exhibits this kind of lifeform.

I have seen a picture of a man standing beside a fabulous specimen of Spiridens growing up the bole of a tree and the individual fronds looked bigger that the palms the man in that picture.

To stand in awe of a giant tree is an experience that is commonly written about, but to do the same before a moss… few people get that privilege. That day shall come for me!

Status: Yet to See