I have read (somewhere) that there are types of moss (plants) that
have adapted to urban environments and are not found outside cities. 
I need a citation or example of such.

Thank you!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 12 Nov 2005 17:46 PST

reptiles-ga,

I found a citation, of sorts, but I'm not sure how much faith to put in it.

The Wikipedia entry (an online encyclopedia, generally quite reliable)
for Moss is unambiguous about the topic:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moss

"Mosses are also found in cracks between paving stones in damp city
streets. Some types have adapted to urban conditions and are found
only in cities..."


Unfortunatley, it doesn't tell us which kinds.


A page on urban mosses can be seen here:


http://www-biol.paisley.ac.uk/courses/silverside/PCE/PCEUrbanB.html
Urban bryophytes


but nothing I saw mentions any urban-only mosses.


Does that help at all?


pafalafa-ga

Could it be that this is something that you heard, rather than read? I
ask this because it seems unlikely that cities have been around long
enough for a new species to evolve - and because there is a well-known
case of a change in the predominant color of moths in England in
response to industrial pollution (and its later abatement). (My
apologies if you're already aware of this.)

 If you heard, rather than read, the statment, perhaps the speaker
said "moths," which sounds like "moss."

In the case of moths in England, I think its more a case of selective
protection from bird predation that enables one form or the other to
become predominant.

Perhaps some similar selection could take place in a moss, and that
may be what you are referring to. Or perhaps the natural environment
outside of cities has changed and the moss gone extinct there.

Looking at such comments as: 

" Bryum capillare, a moss of worldwide distribution, is ubiquitous to
cities where it is commonly found growing within the cracks of
sidewalks..."

Wondering if such mosses grow *only* in cities. 

Nothing to do with "moths" or other hearing difficulties. Question
stands as written.

This German site gives the following:
http://www.natur-lexikon.com/Texte/LM/001/00005-Haarblaettriges-Birnmoos/LM00005-Haarblaettriges-Birnmoos.html

"Natürliche Standorte sind basenreiche Felsnischen und -spalten sowie
am Stammgrund von Laubbäumen mit nährstoffreicher Borke (Esche, Ulme,
Ahorn, Pappel)."
Natural habitats are cracks and depressions in alcaline rocks as well
as on the bases of deciduous trees with bark rich in nutrients (ash,
elm, maple, poplar).

And this one gives another natural habitat: 
http://www.wicken.org.uk/mosses.htm
"Bryum capillare Usually epiphytic on old more-or-less horizontal willow branches."
(Epiphytic:  A plant which naturally grows upon another plant but does
not derive any nourishment from it. Many of the orchids in cultivation
are epiphytic.
www.orchids.com/support/supportGlossary.html)

I checked the history of changes to the Wikipedia article and the sentence

"Some types have adapted to urban conditions and are found
only in cities.'

appears to have been added in the "Revision as of 06:28, 30 October 2005."

I am not an expert Wikipedia user, but I went to history and checked
this October 30 version and the October 21, 2005, version and then
clicked on "Compare selected versions" to get the differences.

I was hoping to contact the author of the October 30 revision, but
he/she is apparently anonymous. Only an IP addrees is given and I
didn't get any further than that. For comparison, I clicked on
"EncycloPetey" (the author of the October 21 revision) and got a
Wikipedia page on him; presumably, I could contact EncycloPetey if I
signed up for a Wikipedia account (but I'm not sure of that). In any
case, I got nowhere in clicking on the corresponding link (the IP
address) for the author of the October 30 revision.

As I say, I'm not an expert Wikipedia user, so someone else may know
how to contact the author of the October 30 revision for further
information on the source of that statement.