Cassia Read

What a marvellous little book. I loved the fact that it had been put together by a group of amateur enthusiasts though I suspect that the two authors must have put in the brunt of the work because it hangs together really well as a guide to the mosses of South Eastern Australia. I found myself today, scanning the local rock walls and shady spots for mosses and thinking that I really needed to take some samples and get them under the microscope to identify them.
The photographs are really superb and the layout is deceptively simple but extremely useful. I liked their simple keying system.....based pretty much on the shape/size and venation of the leaf. I assume that it will work in practice. At least, work well enough to get close to identifying the species.
Strange really, that one should want to identify them. I guess it gives one a sense of mastery over the species ...and enables one to show-off to people who probably have no interest whatsoever. Happy to give this little book 5 stars.… (mehr)