# Planted Tanks > Plant Talk > Aquatic Moss Club >  Taxiphyllum sp. "Peacock"

## aquaturbo

This is the new taxiphyllum species that I have. As the actual location where this moss has been discovered was not known, the species name could not be determined. It could only be identified to be in the genus taxiphyllum by Dr Tan for the moment. If anyone has come across this moss in it's natural habitat, please let me know so that Dr Tan would be able to narrow down the search for the species.

For now, I would like to name it Taxiphyllum sp. "Peacock", or Peacock moss for easy reference. Please follow the following link for more pictures.

http://www.aquamoss.net


Regards,
Tan SW

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## Green Baron

Nice looking _Taxiphyllum sp._ but is Prof Tan able to tell if this is different from what is commonly known as 'Taiwan Moss' ?

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## timebomb

It's hard to tell from pics but I do believe that this _Taxiphyllum_ is the same as the one I brought to the professor some time ago. I got the moss from Gen X and it was reported in this post. Here's a picture:



Loh K L

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## Green Baron

I think it will be difficult to ID this one outside of the lab !

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## aquaturbo

> Nice looking _Taxiphyllum sp._ but is Prof Tan able to tell if this is different from what is commonly known as 'Taiwan Moss' ?


Hi Gan,

The professor was able to tell the difference between this moss and the 'Taiwan Moss' immediately. He was rather surprised also, and kept the moss as a reference after looking under the microscope. I have actually taken a picture of this 'Peacock Moss' together with the 'Taiwan Moss' for comparison. You could follow this link to view it. http://www.aquamoss.net

I don't know how the professor identify all those mosses, as I had another moss that looks very similar to Java moss, but the professor said it's not, but another species of Taxiphyllum. I'll report on this moss later if I can get some better pictures.


Tan SW

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## aquaturbo

> It's hard to tell from pics but I do believe that this _Taxiphyllum_ is the same as the one I brought to the professor some time ago. I got the moss from Gen X and it was reported in this post.


Hi Loh,

I'm not sure whether are they the same moss because I've not been to Gen X, and your picture looks like it's emersed and difficult to compare. I've got this moss from LFS in China, but like the professor said, the real origination of the moss could never be known when it's coming from LFS.

Say, will you be going to the coming Aquarama 05? If you are going, you could do all of us a favour to physically see the 'Peacock Moss' and compare it with the Gen X Moss. I've passed the moss to Alan of Plantas Aquaticas some times back, and he told me he'll be exhibiting it in Aquarama. He will be at the JEBO booth and Sealine Trading Booth. I'm not sure which booth will he be putting the moss for display though. Btw, he will be display another taxiphyllum also. He likes to call it 'Mini Moss', but one of my friend and I like to jokingly call it 'Green Sock Moss'. It's kinda cute, imagine an army green sock that's rolled up into a ball. For those that have been to his shop, you might already seen it on display in the main tank right at the entrance. But too bad, his shop has closed, and his business shifting to online.



Regards,
Tan SW
http://www.aquamoss.net

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## strung_0ut

Glad to see you on the board Tan. Very nice pictures and moss, and I am looking very forward to seeing more. Can you take a picture of 'Green Socks Moss' and post it as well?

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## strung_0ut

Since Tan is pretty busy, I'll give an update. Here are three taxiphyllums that Tan has passed to me maybe about a month or so ago. I can't recall the locations or if there were any at all.

Green socks moss - I can't figure the reason for the nickname or maybe its just my growth. Sounds like a cool name for a moss though.



Peacock moss - Another taxiphyllum. I believe it to be Peacock moss but I hadn't heard the nickname until now.



And here is a third taxiphyllum. All of these have been slow growers for me so far. Not much of anything just yet.

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## nonamethefish

I notice on the site that java moss is referred to as Taxiphyllum barberi. Is this the correct sci name now? I remember one of you mentioned we didn't know the sci name of java moss as it never produced "spores".

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## timebomb

Yes, that's the correct scientific name but take note that it isn't 100% confirmed. There is still some doubt because of the lack of sporophytes, the things you called "spores". The genus name is definitely correct but no one, not even the professor, is certain of the species name.

Here's a quote from the prof's article on aquatic mosses:

"The Java Moss has been identified scientifically many years ago by Prof. Zen Iwatsuki at the Hattori Botanical Laboratory as a species of _Taxiphyllum, T. barbieri_ (Card. & Coppey) Iwats. (Iwatsuki 1982). The name is based on a comparison of the market bought specimens of Java moss in Japan and the herbarium specimen of _Taxiphyllum barbieri_ from Vietnam. Because of the lack of fruiting specimens of Java moss, this identification has to be accepted with reservation."

Loh K L

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## strung_0ut

> Yes, that's the correct scientific name but take note that it isn't 100% confirmed. There is still some doubt because of the lack of sporophytes, the things you called "spores". The genus name is definitely correct but no one, not even the professor, is certain of the species name.
> 
> Here's a quote from the prof's article on aquatic mosses:
> 
> "The Java Moss has been identified scientifically many years ago by Prof. Zen Iwatsuki at the Hattori Botanical Laboratory as a species of _Taxiphyllum, T. barbieri_ (Card. & Coppey) Iwats. (Iwatsuki 1982). The name is based on a comparison of the market bought specimens of Java moss in Japan and the herbarium specimen of _Taxiphyllum barbieri_ from Vietnam. Because of the lack of fruiting specimens of Java moss, this identification has to be accepted with reservation."
> 
> Loh K L


If this was discovered back in 82, how is it that this taxiphyllum species' was mistaken as a vesicularia for so very long?

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## timebomb

> If this was discovered back in 82, how is it that this taxiphyllum species' was mistaken as a vesicularia for so very long?


It could be due to many reasons, Dennis but foremost of which, I think it is because the internet wasn't around then so new information does not spread around well. Who reads scientific papers anyway?  :Laughing: 

Having seen how the professor identify mosses, I realised that we've been doing it all wrong. All too often, we depend on pictures we see on the internet or in books and by comparing them to the mosses we have, we try to come up with their identities. The prof does not rely on internet pictures. He goes to the source, to the original publication which first described the moss. I've seen his moss books and some were published about a hundred years ago. I'm amazed how good are the drawings in those books. The drawings are in great detail and they show the mosses in various perspectives. Some show a single frond while others are drawings of cell structures. 

Way before this forum existed, 2 hobbyists, James Purchase of Canada and Stephan Mifsud of Malta went through a lot of research to try and find out the true identity of Christmas Moss. They never succeeded. These 2 are serious hobbyists, mind you and I have great admiration for their depth of knowledge. But on hindsight, I can tell you now they will never find out the answer if it had not been for the prof. To find the true identities, we have to have the correct literature. In other words, we have to have access to the original papers that first described the moss.

In my meetings with the prof, he has, on a few occasions, declined to identify some mosses I brought, for the simple reason he did not have the relevant books with him. So you see how it is. The prof cannot identify a moss just by looking at its cell structure. He also needs the original drawings before he can be positive about the identity. Unless of course, it's a moss he's familiar with, like for instance, Singapore Moss.

Anyway, it isn't just us but aquatic plant import/export companies often get the names wrong too. Someone publishes a wrong name and the error is carried forward to other publications. 

Loh K L

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## timebomb

To add on to my earlier post -

I've seen how the professor goes about his work and and the drawings in his moss books so I can tell you something. To become a moss expert, you have to have 2 qualities, both of which I do not possess.

First, you have to have a sharp eye for detail. Is the leaf jagged or smooth? Are the cells different in various parts of the leaf? Even minute details matter. All too often, when I was asked to look through his microscropes, I only saw the big picture and neglected the details. 

Second, you have a photographic memory, in the sense that you have to be able to draw what you saw in the microscope. I'm amazed at how the prof can take one look through the microscope and reproduced in detail what he saw. Me, I have to keep referring back to the microscope and yet I leave out many details.

Loh K L

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## Green Baron

> To add on to my earlier post -
> 
> I've seen how the professor goes about his work and and the drawings in his moss books so I can tell you something. To become a moss expert, you have to have 2 qualities, both of which I do not possess.
> 
> First, you have to have a sharp eye for detail. Is the leaf jagged or smooth? Are the cells different in various parts of the leaf? Even minute details matter. All too often, when I was asked to look through his microscropes, I only saw the big picture and neglected the details. 
> 
> Second, you have a photographic memory, in the sense that you have to be able to draw what you saw in the microscope. I'm amazed at how the prof can take one look through the microscope and reproduced in detail what he saw. Me, I have to keep referring back to the microscope and yet I leave out many details.
> 
> Loh K L


Those are the reasons why he is a Professor and we are not  :Laughing:

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