What Do Mosses Not Have?

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Mosses don't have roots, flowers or vascular tissue that allows water to be moved within the plant. They're able to occupy virtually every habitat on the planet and endure all kinds of different types of environments. So they're super simple, but in their simplicity is kind of the key to their success. And so without flowering, they reproduce with spores,. There are females and nails, there are eggs and sperm tucked in among the little tiny leaves of the moss.

It’s November and you need chill vibes. And Native American Heritage Month is the perfect time to encore this classic. World-renowned author, botanist, Indigenous ecology professor and bryologist Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of “Gathering Moss” and “Braiding Sweetgrass,” talks about her passion for moss. Cozy up for the most beautifully doled-out information about hidden worlds, overlooked mysteries, botanical drama, forests in miniature, Native peoples’ uses for moss and philosophies about science and ecology. Dr. Kimmerer will change the way you see mosses forever, will inspire you to wear a loupe on a rope, and will soothe your soul with her beautiful voice and prose. Also bathmats, lawns and smoothies made of moss? We discuss.

Follow Dr. Kimmerer on Facebook at

Look for her books at independent bookstores or wherever books are sold (including Amazon): “Braiding Sweetgrass” and “Gathering Moss”

Donations went to the ESF’s Center for Native Peoples and the Environment and American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)