Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

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The engine of her next book will be “ecological compassion” for plants. She would like people to come to understand them as sovereign beings in their own right, if not people. “The research in plant intelligence that is being done is already revolutionising science,” she says, “so my next project is designed to elicit in the reader a sense of compassion and justice for them. I would like people to recognise their culture. Take off your anthropocentric lenses, and you will see that they have very rich cultural lives.” My own life feels strange, always, but especially now during the pandemic. Gathering Moss was both a respite from the news, and a reminder that Nature isn't and never has been "over there." It isn't separate from us. Our concrete jungle is as much a part of the system as that creek of my childhood. What a heady, terrifying, and reassuring concept. It's as surprising to me to write a five-star review on a book about mosses as it is to you to read it. (Well, for those of you who know me)

Drawing on her diverse experiences as a scientist, mother, teacher, and writer of Native American heritage, Kimmerer explains the stories of mosses in scientific terms as well as in the framework of indigenous ways of knowing. In her book, the natural history and cultural relationships of mosses become a powerful metaphor for ways of living in the world. Intriguing and uplifting stories of the world's oldest plants, from the revered botanist and indigenous teacher Robin Wall KimmererSo this book is not really 'a natural and cultural history of mosses', which is what I thought it would be. It is more like the author reflecting on mosses, her life, the meaning of things, and how interconnectivity in biology things (including people and mosses). This book is a series of essays about her life, with mosses playing some role in each. Beautiful ... Her scientific training and knowledge of plants from her Potawatomi heritage create a unique lens, teaching us how to look and watch... Reading this has made me stop to wondrously admire any patch of moss I come across. Quietus Shout out to this fabulous book, it made a guest appearance in my latest YouTube Video (all about making fun nature things out of felt). The scientific facts, tinged by the author's experiences, were woven into intricate narratives which were both engaging and beautiful. Many times, those facts were used as metaphors for completely different subjects, and still, it all made sense and made a coherent whole. Is Kimmerer surprised by these developments? Yes, and no. “There was no marketing push,” she says. “The books were sold hand to hand. I think it’s almost a case of critical mass. But I also think that the times we’re living in are creating a longing for a connection to land and nature: what I call a longing for belonging. Both books provide a doorway to that kind of belonging, and maybe, too, we’re finally coming to value those things that are not entirely tied up with commerce.”

Kimmerer's linked essays weave personal histories with her research and fieldwork in bryology and forest ecology, and she relates the lives of these small plants into the larger sphere of forests, speaking to the important role they play in temperature regulation, air flow, soil nutrients, etc. I am noticing moss everywhere now and appreciating ist qualities. I am saddened that such amazing, ancient and tiny plants are dismissed and removed by just the kinds of chemicals from which they can protect us.

Beneath your feet, barely visible to the eye, is another world: a rainforest in miniature ... Read Kimmerer's book and you're unlikely ever again to waste precious gardening time scraping moss from paving stones. Rachel Cooke, Observer Robin Wall Kimmerer is not at all boring to read. These essays on mosses and life are to be read slowly, and savored, or not at all... though, honestly, I find it hard to imagine racing through them. Her style, while not verbose, simply leaves too much in the mind with every paragraph. Goblin’s gold ( Schistostega pennata) is highly reflective, having tiny ‘lenses’ within the structure. Photograph: Nature Picture Library/Alamy A book about moss? Really? I hated botany in college so while this was highly recommended by a friend (who happens to be a botanist who studies ...wait for it ... sedges!), I just wasn't sure this was for me. I added it to my TBR list and spent more than a year with it there. I did attempt it once, but didn't get far and the library reclaimed it. Do plants have rights? Should they be given more protection under the law? She smiles. “My greatest hope for my book is that it will make perfect sense of their rights. Such rights are not for us to bestow. I believe that they have their own inherent rights.”

Meeting with good books makes me feel as happy as can be. I learned the name of Robin Wall Kimmerer in the book review of the Japanese Newspaper, in which they introduced a recently published Japanese version of Gathering Moss. Her essays sometimes sound like a maxim of a philosopher, and in other times like a serious warning from an ecologist. Before everything else, she is a naive botanical scientist. She wrote about her excitement when she found evidence about chipmunks' playing important role in diffusing moss. We can understand her delight without any doubt. She says we cannot understand things until we know them by using all of our four aspect; mind, body, emotion and spirit. We only need attentiveness to understand things. Further she points out finding the words is another step in learning to see. Knowing things' name is the first step in regaining our connection with them. Losing their names is a step in losing respect to them, on the contrary. The moss information was fascinating. Would have read a lot more of that. The rest was built like a collection of standard "life story" essays from a beginner's writing workshop. And I have read far too many of those already. Gathering Moss is a blend of science and poetry, just the right kind of book I love. I've learned quite a few things about moss. What is moss? Can you distinguish moss from lichen? The reproduction strategy of moss. Ancient moss protection is inadequate in US. The rootless moss can be more difficult to transplant than trees.In these interwoven essays, Robin Wall Kimmerer leads general readers and scientists alike to an understanding of how mosses live and how their lives are intertwined with the lives of countless other beings. Kimmerer explains the biology of mosses clearly and artfully, while at the same time reflecting on what these fascinating organisms have to teach us. Impressed by the previous book I read by this author, Braiding Sweetgrass, I decided to reach for her older book, even though I was in doubt just how interesting it could be to learn in detail about mosses. And yet, I was positively surprised. I ended up gaining knowledge I never knew I wanted and enjoyed myself in the process.

But. Please, please, please save me from overwritten memoirs. Maybe I just don't have a lot of tolerance for memoirs or mixing in human interest stuff (meh, humans) into the study of plants, but I found a lot of the extended metaphors in Gathering Moss (e.g. sexual and asexual reproduction is akin to her neighbor's kids, one of whom has grown up to pursue the same interests while the other has chosen a very different path) to be forced, saccharine, and wordy. I have a degree in plant physiology specializing in water relations, so hearing the water cycle and moss adaptations to preserving water described thus was an eyebrow raising experience: Mosses, though... mosses are everywhere. That's how I settled on this title. Even my untrained eye notices moss while running errands on foot, or walking to the dedicated Nature area of town. Soulful, accessible... informed by both western science and indigenous teachings alike ... Kimmerer blends, with deep attentiveness and musicality, science and personal insights to tell the overlooked story of the planet's oldest plants GuardianThe author truly did a wonderful job explaining the significance of her years of research and experience to a lay audience.