You may be surprised to learn that this elegant plant dappled with water droplets is a variety of moss: Tortula muralis, better known as wall screw-moss. It"s found all over the world, even in urban areas where more sensitive mosses have a hard time thriving because of dry soil and air pollution. Mosses in general are accurate monitors of air pollution—they absorb air and water, so contaminants can also be measured in their cells.
Tortula moss, Netherlands
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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A day of service for Dr. King
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Purple flowers and Golden Week
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Diwali lights in Guwahati, India
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Astronomy Day
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Sligachan Old Bridge, Isle of Skye, Scotland
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World Octopus Day
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Dressed to impress
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San Gimignano, Siena Tuscany, Italy
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Everybody loves World Turtle Day
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World Penguin Day
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Let’s have a ball
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Lower Antelope Canyon, Arizona
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National Mushroom Month
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Islands that turned the tide
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Bohemian waxwings in Canada
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The power of the forest
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The frog prince?
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Celebrating the first day of spring
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‘Ciao’ from Varenna
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International Whale Shark Day
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Leopard at Etosha National Park, Namibia
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Muskoxen in Dovre-Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway
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Tom Turkey takes Manhattan
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A Festivus for the rest of us
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World Whale Day
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National Panda Day
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Stepping stones in Tollymore Forest Park, Northern Ireland
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Sea Otter Awareness Week
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Celebrating all things Austen
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International Women s Day
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