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I had some moss in one of my seedlings pot and I asked what I should do with it here in GSE. I was assured it was mostly harmless so I left it be. However, a couple of days ago, it has sprouted leaves. Does moss do that o_O? If not, what is it? Is it time to panic?

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I don't think it's something independent from moss. since, as you can see, it only sprouts in the center of the moss.

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Armen Tsirunyan
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  • I'm no cactus grower, but I would figure the moss would vanish when you start treating the cactus seedlings more like adult cactus, moisture-wise. – Ecnerwal Mar 01 '15 at 17:18

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Yes, Moss grows leaves. They are simple leaves 1 cell thick, and they grow on a thin stem. Moss plants have no vascular tissue, so water and nutrients can only travel through the plant by diffusion. This limits the size moss plants can grow, and also makes them prone to drying out, so the largest moss plants are only found in constant moist.

As for the health of your seedlings, the moss (when it's that big) can pull some nutrients, but not many. The moss plant does not have a true root system, but rather a tiny system of simple rhizoids, which pick up some nutrients and water through diffusion (they're also non-vascular).

They may slow down the growth if they get big enough. I'd probably carefully pick the worst stuff out of there with a pair of tweezers.

J. Musser
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