The Mosses of New Zealand

Forest and Bird, Issue 268, 1 May 1993, Page 41

The Mosses of New Zealand

Ewen Cameron

by Jessica Beever, K. W. Allison and John Child, (University of Otago Press) 1992 (2nd edition), 214pp, $79.95 Mosses are all around us and are the major constituent of the lush green carpet that clothes much of New Zealand’s forest trees and ground. Generally over-: looked because of their small size, they abound from the coast

to the alpine herbfields; a few hardy species even live in city pavement cracks. Many mosses play an important ecological role through their pioneering ability to establish on bare ground, acting as a germinating "bed" for other plants and as a surface "sponge’’, thereby decreasing soil erosion from wind and rain. New Zealand has a very rich moss flora both in abundance and diversity, with about 550

species. Although most are small, New Zealand does have one of the world’s tallest mosses and others which form large pendant veils across tree branches. Sainsbury’s A handbook of the New Zealand mosses (1955) and Allison and Child’s original The mosses of New Zealand (1971) are well outdated. This major revision by Dr Beever of Allison and Child’s book fills a large gap, adding over two decades of recent knowledge. The book includes 75 descriptions plus illustrations of New Zealand’s commonest mosses, distinguishing characteristics of a further 380 species and, to complete this comprehensive study, a listing of 98 rare, local or poorly understood mosses. Included is a clearly set out 42page key to all genera and common species, a glossary and bibliography. This new edition contains 49 new colour photographs, with beautiful close-ups and cellular

plates and 82 original line drawings by Dr Beever. These new drawings frequently compare related species. Jessica Beever and the publishers are to be congratulated on producing such an attractive, comprehensive and user-friendly book. There is no longer an excuse to ignore these beautiful plants.