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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Bormio, Lombardy, Italy
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A gorge-ous mill in the Causses
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Crescent-tail bigeye fish, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
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New York City skyline
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In Sicily, history is everywhere
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Mount Rainier National Park
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Indigenous Peoples Day
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An island oasis in the Indian Ocean
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From the mind of Frank Gehry
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So, how long till springtime?
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Colle Santa Lucia, Dolomites, Italy
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Spiegelgracht canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
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Feeling lazy? Today s your day.
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Alaska Bald Eagle Festival
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Celebrating whales—and a whale of a tale
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World Population Day
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They’re grrrape!
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First day of autumn
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Cinco de Mayo
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Ancient art in the Amazon
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Irohazaka Road in fall, Nikko, Tochigi, Japan
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Tour de France begins
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Visiting Ahch-To on Star Wars Day
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Pandas pucker up for International Kissing Day
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Red-necked grebes during breeding season
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Vasco da Gama Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
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On this shore, history was made
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Rockin with the rockhoppers
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National Audubon Society s Christmas Bird Count
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

