Useless on mosses, apart from knowing this is one.

Agree it looks to be a moss.

Thanks guys! The "roots" are less than 1" long, so that makes sense. All the other mosses I've collected so far just sit on top of the soil - I can lift them right up - so this one was a surprise to me.

There is a book at the library, The Observer's Book of Mosses and Liverworts. It was fascinating. I was also collecting them and placing them under my maple. I ended up with a half dozen or so and some lichens.

Is there a N American version of that book because the one I know deals with British species? The Observer series was part of my childhood. We had birds, wildflowers, wild animals, the seashore etc.

The Observer series, as Floral states, were every kids field guild for whatever they were interested in. Great books.

I looked the title up on the internet. The one I got at the library was for the northwest so I'm not sure of the title now. I did see it at Border Books when there was a Border Books.

Moss gardening : including lichens, liverworts, and other miniatures / George Schenk.

ISBN: 0881923702Description: 261 pages : color illustrations ; 24 cm