Moss and lichen have been growing in popularity. In fact, books about the natural world are increasingly popular. I have been interested and photographing moss for more than ten years, and this is my first book on the topic. Moss and Lichen by Karen Nierlich traverses five mossy locales in the San Francisco Bay Area:

– Tilden Botanical Garden

– Albany & North and West Berkeley

– Muir Woods

– Dipsea Trail & Stinson Beach

Moss and Lichen features 38 pages of my photographs taken in Northern California. The book features moss and lichen in both urban and wilderness settings, with photos that always accentuate the lush, textural nature of moss.

Moss and Lichen will appeal to the many outdoorsy, nature loving West Coast people. Perhaps a great gift for the hikers, backpackers, runners, gardeners, photographers, artists, and inspired people in your life. It will also appeal to those who are drawn to the unusual, as well as parents, teachers and kids who like educational books that foster an appreciation of the natural world.

A few facts: Moss is very unusual, quirky stuff. It may have been the first land plant and it’s believed to have evolved from algae. It’s one of the few vascular plants…meaning it doesn’t take water into it’s vascular system (like our blood system). Instead, it’s mostly reliant on rain and dew for moisture.

When no water is present, moss dries up and goes dormant. Moss can lie dormant for years and be revived many years, even a century, later.  In a remarkable bit of news this year, scientists took a core sample from a large expanse of Antarctic moss on Signy Island and took it back to a lab. That 1500 year old moss sample regrew om the lab in a few weeks. [Scientific American, May 17, 2014]

Moss is also known as a pioneering plant because it can grow places other plants can’t like rocks, sides of trees, etc. Unlike other plants, it doesn’t have roots, but threadlike sticky pads called rhizoids that let it stick to rocks and trees. Additionally, many mosses have male and female parts and can reproduce on their own. These are a few of the unusual facts; there are many more.

Moss and Lichen is available for $20 at the Lulu.com online bookstore (click here).