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ery strange；鈥潯e said。 鈥渢hat used to be botany back there。鈥潯e puncheda button for another floor； and we found our way at length to botany by means of backstaircases and discreet trespass through yet more departments where investigators toiledlovingly over once…living objects。 and so it was that i was introduced to len ellis and thequiet world of bryophytes鈥攎osses to the rest of us。
when emerson poetically noted that mosses favor the north sides of trees （鈥渢he moss uponthe forest bark； was pole…star when the night was dark鈥潱e really meant lichens； for in thenineteenth century mosses and lichens weren鈥檛 distinguished。 true mosses aren鈥檛 actuallyfussy about where they grow； so they are no good as natural passes。 in fact； mosses aren鈥檛actually much good for anything。 鈥減erhaps no great group of plants has so few uses；mercial or economic； as the mosses；鈥潯rote henry s。 conard； perhaps just a touch sadly；in how to know the mosses and liverworts； published in 1956 and still to be found on manylibrary shelves as almost the only attempt to popularize the subject。
they are； however； prolific。 even with lichens removed； bryophytes is a busy realm； withover ten thousand species contained within some seven hundred genera。 the plump andstately moss flora of britain and ireland by a。 j。 e。 smith runs to seven hundred pages； andbritain and ireland are by no means outstandingly mossy places。 鈥渢he tropics are where youfind the variety；鈥潯en ellis told me。 a quiet； spare man； he has been at the natural historymuseum for twenty…seven years and curator of the department since 1990。 鈥測ou can go outinto a place like the rain forests of malaysia and find new varieties with relative ease。 i didthat myself not long ago。 i looked down and there was a species that had never beenrecorded。鈥�
鈥渟o we don鈥檛 know how many species are still to be discovered？鈥�
鈥渙h； no。 no idea。鈥�
you might not think there would be that many people in the world prepared to devotelifetimes to the study of something so inescapably low key； but in fact moss people number inthe hundreds and they feel very strongly about their subject。 鈥渙h； yes；鈥潯llis told me； 鈥渢hemeetings can get very lively at times。鈥�
i asked him for an example of controversy。
鈥渨ell； here鈥檚 one inflicted on us by one of your countrymen；鈥潯e said； smiling lightly； andopened a hefty reference work containing illustrations of mosses whose most notablecharacteristic to the uninstructed eye was their uncanny similarity one to another。 鈥渢hat；鈥潯esaid； tapping a moss； 鈥渦sed to be one genus； drepanocladus。 now it鈥檚 been reorganized intothree： drepanocladus； wamstorfia； and hamatacoulis。鈥�
鈥渁nd did that lead to blows？鈥潯 asked perhaps a touch hopefully。
鈥渨ell； it made sense。 it made perfect sense。 but it meant a lot of reordering of collectionsand it put all the books out of date for a time； so there was a bit of； you know； grumbling。鈥�
mosses offer mysteries as well； he told me。 one famous case鈥攆amous to moss peopleanyway鈥攊nvolved a retiring type called hyophila stanfordensis； which was discovered on thecampus of stanford university in california and later also found growing beside a path incornwall； on the southwest tip of england； but has never been encountered anywhere inbetween。 how it came to exist in two such unconnected locations is anybody鈥檚 guess。 鈥渋t鈥檚now known as hennediella stanfordensis；鈥潯llis said。 鈥渁nother revision。鈥�
we nodded thoughtfully。
when a new moss is found it must be pared with all other mosses to make sure that ithasn鈥檛 been recorded already。 then a formal description must be written and illustrationsprepared and the result published in a respectable journal。 the whole process seldom takesless than six months。 the twentieth century was not a great age for moss taxonomy。 much ofthe century鈥檚 work was devoted to untangling the confusions and duplications left behind bythe nineteenth century。
that was the golden age of moss collecting。 （you may recall that charles lyell鈥檚 fatherwas a great moss man。） one aptly named englishman； george hunt； hunted british mosses soassiduously that he probably contributed to the extinction of several species。 but it is thanksto such efforts that len ellis鈥檚 collection is one of the world鈥檚 most prehensive。 all780；000 of his specimens are pressed into large folded sheets of heavy paper； some very oldand covered with spidery victorian script。 some； for all we knew； might have been in thehand of robert brown； the great victorian botanist； unveiler of brownian motion and thenucleus of cells； who founded and ran the museum鈥檚 botany department for its first thirty…oneyears until his death in 1858。 all the specimens are kept in lustrous old mahogany cabinets sostrikingly fine that i remarked upon them。
鈥渙h； those were sir joseph banks鈥檚； from his house in soho square；鈥潯llis said casually； asif identifying a recent purchase from ikea。 鈥渉e had them built to hold his specimens from theendeavour voyage。鈥潯e regarded the cabinets thoughtfully； as if for the first time in a longwhile。 鈥渋 don鈥檛 know howwe ended up with them in bryology；鈥潯e added。
this was an amazing disclosure。 joseph banks was england鈥檚 greatest botanist； and theendeavour voyage鈥攖hat is the one on which captain cook charted the 1769 transit of venusand claimed australia for the crown； among rather a lot else鈥攚as the greatest botanicalexpedition in history。 banks paid 锟�10；000； about 1 million in today鈥檚 money； to bringhimself and a party of nine others鈥攁 naturalist； a secretary； three artists； and four servants鈥攐n the three…year adventure around the world。 goodness knows what the bluff captain cook made of such a velvety and pampered assemblage； but he seems to have liked banks wellenough and could not but admire his talents in botany鈥攁 feeling shared by posterity。
never before or since has a botanical party enjoyed greater triumphs。 partly it was becausethe voyage took in so many new or little…known places鈥攖ierra del fuego； tahiti； newzealand； australia； new guinea鈥攂ut mostly it was because banks was such an astute andinventive coll