Moss

Moss
/maws, mos/, n.
Howard, born 1922, U.S. poet, editor, and playwright.

* * *

I
Any of at least 12,000 species of small, spore-bearing land plants in the bryophyte division, found worldwide except in salt water.

Mosses are simple and ancient plants that have survived nearly unchanged since the Permian Period (290–248 million years ago). Commonly found in moist, shady locations (e.g., forest floors), mosses may range in size from microscopic to more than 40 in. (1 m) long. They prevent erosion and release nutrients from the substrates on which they grow. The life cycle shows clear alternation of generations between the sexual gametophyte, with stemlike and leaflike structures that produce eggs and swimming sperm, and the sporophyte, a raised stalk that ends in a spore case (sporangium). Mosses also reproduce asexually by branching. The economically important genus Sphagnum forms peat. Many so-called mosses are not bryophytes, including Irish moss (a red form of algae); beard moss, Iceland moss, oak moss, and reindeer moss (all lichens); Spanish moss (a name used variously for a lichen or an air plant of the pineapple family); and club moss (an evergreen herb of the family Lycopodiaceae).
II
(as used in expressions)
Hart Moss
Moss Stirling
sphagnum moss

* * *

Norway
      town and port, southeastern Norway, on the eastern shore of Oslo Fjord. Moss was founded in the 16th century. On Aug. 14, 1814, it was the site of the signing of the Convention of Moss, which ended the short war between Norway and Sweden that preceded their union. The town has paper and cotton mills, metalworks, shipyards, textile factories, breweries, and facilities for glass, asphalt, and tar production. The harbour is protected by adjacent Jel Island, called the “Pearl of Oslo Fjord” for its fine resort area and many large estates. The Moss River drains into Vann Lake and then flows through the town and into Oslo Fjord. Pop. (2007 est.) mun., 28,633.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Moss — (m[o^]s; 115), n. [OE. mos; akin to AS. me[ o]s, D. mos, G. moos, OHG. mos, mios, Icel. mosi, Dan. mos, Sw. mossa, Russ. mokh , L. muscus. Cf. {Muscoid}.] 1. (Bot.) A cryptogamous plant of a cellular structure, with distinct stem and simple… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Moss FK — Moss Full name Moss Fotballklubb Nickname(s) Kællane (The Lads) Founded August 28, 1906 Ground …   Wikipedia

  • Moss M.A.1 — at Blackpool (Squires Gate) airport on 27 August 1949 wearing racing No. 26 Role light …   Wikipedia

  • Moss M.A.2 — G AFMS at Coventry (Baginton) airport on 19 June 1954 Role two seat sporting aircraft …   Wikipedia

  • moss — (n.) O.E. meos moss, related to mos bog, from P.Gmc. *musan (Cf. O.H.G. mios, Dan. mos, Ger. Moos), also in part from O.N. mosi moss, bog, and M.L. mossa moss, from the same Germanic source, from PIE *meus damp, with derivatives ref …   Etymology dictionary

  • Moss IL — Full name Moss Idrettslag Founded 1929 Ground Melløs Stadion Moss Moss Idrettslag is a Norwegian athletics club from Moss, founded in 1929. Moss IL uses the Melløs Stadion, which in 1983 got rubber track as t …   Wikipedia

  • Moss FK — Voller Name Moss Fotballklubb Gegründet 28. August 1906 Stadio …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • MOSS (R.) — Rosalind L. B. MOSS 1890 1990 Fille du révérend H. W. Moss, directeur de l’école de Shrewsburg (sur le Severn, Angleterre), miss Rosalind Moss, née en septembre 1890, a achevé à Oxford, presque centenaire, une exceptionnelle carrière de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • moss|y — «MS ee, MOS », adjective, moss|i|er, moss|i|est. 1. covered with moss or a mosslike substance: »a mossy bank. A wood of mossy distorted trees (Francis Parkman). 2. like moss: » …   Useful english dictionary

  • moss — moss; moss·berry; moss·er; moss·ery; moss·ite; moss·man; …   English syllables

  • moss — [môs, mäs] n. [ME mos, a bog, moss < OE, a swamp, akin to ON mosi, Ger moos, a bog, moss < IE * meus (> L muscus, moss) < base * meu , moist] 1. a) any of various classes (esp. Bryopsida) of very small, green bryophytes having stems… …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”