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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Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
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Summer Olympics begin in Paris
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Tolkien Week
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Mandarin duck, Richmond Park, London, England
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Muskoxen in Dovre-Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway
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Happy Independence Day!
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Our Lady of the Rocks
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A shell of many colors
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A Carpathian Christmas celebration
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International Haiku Poetry Day
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Salmon return to the Copper River
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Its Halfway Day!
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Hawksbill Mountain in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
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The island fox’s incredible comeback
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Lunar eclipse
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Birds of a feather
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St. Paul Winter Carnival
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A holiday beacon of light
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Rainbow River, Rainbow Springs State Park, Florida
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Beavers Bend
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Aerial view of the ruins of Sacsayhuamán, Cusco, Peru
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Why’s it called a spelling ‘bee,’ anyhow?
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World Architecture Day
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The artists come to Venice
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Who left the tub running?
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Engineering an artificial harbor in Normandy
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Quiver trees in Namibia
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Travel Sunday: Sintra, Portugal
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National Pumpkin Day
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Spring blooms in the Netherlands
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

