Instructors: Laura Boggess (Mars Hill University) and Gary Kaufmann (USDA Forest Service)

This course may not be taken for graduate credit.

The Southern Appalachians are an area of high bryophyte diversity, and this course will introduce students to common and some rare mosses, liverworts, and hornworts of the region. The class will survey bryophyte diversity by visiting and sampling from a variety of habitats in the vicinity around Highlands, NC. Laboratory work will involve extensive use of microscopes, and identifications will rely on microscopic characters and use of dichotomous keys. Students will explore diagnostic features for bryophyte identification and learn common taxa in the field and closeup using microscopes. Lectures will cover differences among mosses, liverworts, and hornworts as well as morphological features used to distinguish bryophyte taxa. No prior bryology experience or studies are necessary to take the course, though students should be willing to work with microscopes and use diagnostic keys for identification in the lab. The course is geared towards botanists, natural resource professionals, naturalists, and students. Prerequisites: a botany, plant science, or plant taxonomy course or permission of instructor.  

Prerequisites: None

Cost: $500 course fee + $300 housing fee (if staying on-site)

Click here for the syllabus.