Gulf State Park is home to several different mosses that can be seen along the Backcountry Trail. I happen to like moss and find it intriguing. I have even wondered, "Does moss always grow on the north side of the tree? Does a rolling stone really gather no moss?" For the most part though, it seems that mosses don't receive as much attention as do flowering plants, ferns or trees. Maybe that's because mosses are generally small and are often inconspicuous. They have no vascular tissue or wood to provide structural support and most don't have showy flowers, although Spanish moss does produce a nice flower from March through June. But don't let their size or lack of flowers fool you. Mosses are very important in forest ecosystems where they are found. Mosses provide erosion control along streams and help in water and nutrient cycling for forest soil. Up in the Arctic, moss insulates the permafrost.
Along the trail, the most common types of moss that you might see are: 1. Foxtail Clubmoss in boggy areas, 2. Meadow Spikemoss in moist woods and meadows (usually in the form of a creeping mat) and 3. Spanish Moss which can be seen hanging in trees along the Twin Bridges and Gulf Oak Ridge Trails. Watch out for red bugs in the Spanish Moss if you get close to it! All of these mosses are epiphytes and not parasites. An epiphyte only needs a host organism for structural support and not for food or water. Mosses get food from dust in the air and water from dew or rain.
On Catman Road and Rosemary Dunes, you will see lots of moss-like plants. These plants are actually lichens. There are two different species of lichens growing out on the sandy areas of these two trails and can be distinguished by their colors. The green lichen is referred to as Cladina subtenuis while the gray lichen is called Cladina rangiferina. Both are usually lumped together and commonly referred to as "Reindeer Lichen". However, most people almost always call them " Reindeer Moss" or even " Deer Moss". Around here, we tend to refer to both as "club moss". While neither of these lichens provide food or cover for wildlife, both are very important in binding together humus, litter and the soil surface. On sandy sites, this is very important.
Ref: http://www.backcountrytrail.blogspot.com/2012/02/moss-or-lichen.html.
Please be careful not to destroy the Reindeer Moss (Lichen) while you are going for this cache. You are looking for a small lock & lock.
The cache is located on the Rosemary Dunes portion of the Hugh S. Branyon Back Country Trail. I have included a link to a trail map. Android phone users can also find an App for the Back Country Trail here. iPhone users can find an app here.
I hope you have enjoyed all the geocaches we have placed in Gulf State Park, along with the rest of your experience here Please consider giving us some feedback here. We would appreciate it if you would include something about your geocaching experience. We hope to show the bosses in Montgomery how many people geocache, in hopes that they will encourage other Parks to invest in it like we have, here at Gulf State Park. Thanks, Dothenumbers.