Jun 18, 2023
CURSED MOSS FACT #002
Lampenflora: Cave Lamp Communities
If you find yourself in a cave tour with electric lights be sure to look for lampenflora around them! Cave lights have created a unique ecological niche that allows cyanobacteria, algae, mosses/bryophytes, and ferns to grow in the Deep zone, where light is too dim for plants to explore. Cyanobacteria usually are at the outermost edges from the light, followed by algae, then bryophytes like the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha, with ferns being closest.
Caves can be refuga for rare mosses as well! Learn more here. This is a picture of a very small cave that was full of mosses along the Oregon coast.