Rare Moss Collection Donated to Canadian Museum of Nature

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 20, 2011) -

EDS NOTE: Of special interest to Ottawa, London, Barrie region

The Canadian Museum of Nature has received a donation of more than 1,500 plant specimens that includes rare and endangered species of mosses. Most represent species that were found in southern Ontario.

The additions to Canada's national plant collection come from Frank Cook, an amateur naturalist and retired biology professor from the University of Western Ontario. Cook, aged 90, now lives in Barrie, Ontario. He had amassed his collection over more than 35 years of fieldwork, starting around 1970.

"He was the consummate field biologist, who loved to tramp through bogs and fields," explains Cook's son Ian. "He realized that bryophytes were a group that hadn't had a lot of work done on them, so he saw them as an interesting subject to collect and study."

The specimens include mosses, as well as liverworts – both part of a distinctive group of small plants known as bryophytes. They are mostly from locales in southern Ontario, with some from British Columbia as well as Australia and New Zealand.

"A lot of them are especially valuable as they represent unusual or rare species, and all of them add new information to our collections," explains Jennifer Doubt, manager for the museum's Herbarium (plant collection), housed at the museum's collections facility in Gatineau, Quebec. "The specimens are also in amazing shape, all meticulously packaged and identified. For a donation of this size, it's fantastic to have all that information already in place."

Cook's collection encompasses rare species such as Pale cord moss (Funaria flavicons) and Spoon-leaved moss (Bryoandersonia illecebra), for which southern Ontario is the only known Canadian home. Many species in this 'Carolinian' region of Canada have declined in abundance due to urban and agricultural development, and Cook's specimens help to document these changes. The samples will now be incorporated into the museum's national collection of bryophytes, the largest in Canada with about 255,000 specimens.

The dried specimens range in size from a dime-sized nodule to a fist-sized clump. Each is delicately stored in an acid-free envelope labelled with identifying information such as species name, location found and date collected, preparing for study by scientists, students and nature-lovers. "Under the microscope, they have all these beautiful details that you might not initially appreciate when you find them in nature," explains Doubt.

Over the years, as Cook cultivated his interest in bryophytes, he had consulted with CMN staff for identifications and had donated numerous specimens. But the bulk of his tiny treasures remained stored in his basement, carefully recorded and organized in dozens of shoeboxes. Realizing it was time to pass on his collection to more permanent and secure safekeeping, connections were made with the CMN. In June 2011, his son Ian packed the shoeboxes into Rubbermaid bins and drove them to the CMN's Herbarium, where Doubt and her team happily received the rare collection.

The specimens are now being catalogued by CMN staff and volunteers. Part of the process will involve noting specimens with special conservation value, according to authorities such as Ontario's National Heritage Information Centre and the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

The Canadian Museum of Nature is Canada's national museum of natural history and natural science. It promotes awareness of Canada's natural heritage through signature and travelling exhibitions, public education programmes, on-going scientific research, a dynamic Web site, and the maintenance of a 10.5-million-specimen collection. A founding member of the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada, the Museum is working with partners to expand its national service and to develop national programmes about the natural environment.

What are bryophytes? Bryophytes are abundant throughout Canada. With over 1,000 Canadian species, they are still vastly outnumbered by the often more familiar vascular plants, but they dominate some iconic northern and alpine wild habitats.

Many are pioneer plants that grow on rock and contribute to soil development. They can form a thick carpet, helping to reduce erosion – and providing weary hikers with a soft cushion to rest! They also provide habitat for small animals and microorganisms. Bryophytes lack flowers and roots, and readily absorb nutrients and other chemicals with the moisture around them. Because of this, they are useful bio indicators for environmental pollution.