The Moss Science Popularization Exhibition opens at the Shanghai Natural History Museum, unveiling the mystery of "Moss Flowers Like Rice" in the setting sun | Moss | Shanghai Natural History Museum
"The day is not everywhere, and youth comes naturally. Moss flowers are as small as rice, and they bloom like peonies." This poem written by Yuan Mei, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, brought moss, an inconspicuous plant, into the sight of a large number of readers. Today, the "Moss Blossoms Like Rice, Moss Knows to People" Moss Science Popularization Exhibition, hosted by the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, opened at the Shanghai Natural History Museum. From a science popularization perspective, it leads the audience to understand moss and reveals the mystery of this plant through a combination of culture, science, and art. The exhibition will continue until October 15th of this year.
This exhibition is the first original temporary exhibition on the theme of moss in Shanghai, co organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Xianhu Botanical Garden, Shanghai Botanical Garden, East China Normal University and Shanghai Normal University. It shows the origin, classification and research of bryophytes and other scientific contents, and integrates Chinese poetry, painting, calligraphy and other excellent traditional cultures into the design, supplemented by moss micro landscape, three-dimensional greening and other landscape arts.
The exhibition is divided into four exhibition halls: "Beauty of Moss", "Green Steps and Long Breeze", "Biqi Youyu", and "Sunset Reflection". Entering the exhibition area located in the B2 atrium of the Shanghai Natural History Museum, you will be greeted by the Chinese classical garden rockery scenery, lined with common Shanghai gray moss and other elements. Above the bluestones, moss and moss stains appear lush with greenery, complemented by natural sounds such as flowing water and bird singing, bringing the audience a natural beauty.
Dr. Zhang, Director of the Moss Professional Committee of the Chinese Botanical Society, delivered a message for the exhibition, hoping to provide the public with a channel to understand moss and enable them to have a more comprehensive understanding of biodiversity. It is reported that moss is a collective term for horny moss, moss, and moss plants, with over 20000 species worldwide. They are small in size, usually only a few millimeters to a few centimeters tall, and prefer dark and humid environments. The leaves of moss plants are generally composed of a single layer of cells, and the plant lacks differentiation of vascular tissue. They do not bloom or bear fruit throughout their lives and reproduce through spores, so they belong to spore plants, also known as cryptophytes.
The earliest discovered moss fossil so far is an ancient belt leaf moss dating back approximately 400 million years. This inconspicuous plant has undergone an evolution from aquatic to terrestrial, witnessing the flourishing of Jurassic dinosaurs and the rise of Cenozoic mammals, which continue to thrive and continue to this day.
"The Beauty of Moss" in the exhibition hall features 12 selected photos taken by scholars Zhang Li and Ren Zhaojie. In the photos, the moss and spore capsules soar like "cranes soaring in the sky" and are as agile as "shrimp whiskers and mouse tails", showcasing the beauty of moss from different types and angles for the audience. The first exhibition hall's poem "Green Steps and Long Breeze" is derived from two lines of poetry: "The moss marks are green on the steps, and the grass color enters the curtain green" and "The long wind hides the fine grass, and the deep hall has no beautiful money". Through multiple microscopic photos, high-definition images, scientific paintings, moss scenery boxes, living moss, etc., it describes what moss is.
The second exhibition hall "Biqi Youyu" is inspired by the poem "Clean and connected with the stream, suitable for pine raindrops". Through sections such as "Pioneer Plants", "Moss and People", "Moss Homeland", "Moss Habitat", and "Moss Around Us", it discusses the important significance of moss to the ecological environment and human beings. By sharing the moss micro landscape, moss murals, and moss poetry, it showcases the rich Chinese classical characteristics of moss culture and the undeniable economic value of moss.
The meaning of "Xieyang Fuzhao" in the tail hall is "summer rain in the forest, returning to Xieyang", sharing the story of the endangered moss species in China - the short moon moss. In 2013, the dwarf moss was declared extinct, a species that used to be common in tree trunks in southern China. Fortunately, Dr. Zhang discovered its presence again in 2015. However, not all disappearing creatures have this kind of luck. The exhibition aims to convey to the audience the awareness of protecting moss, advocating for environmental protection, and not casually excavating moss.
Wu Qianqian, curator of the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, introduced that this exhibition has received support from various sectors of society, with multiple research institutes, museums, universities, and enterprises providing pictures and specimens. To ensure the scientificity of the exhibition, the museum has invited multiple moss researchers to serve as scientific advisors.
At the exhibition site, visitors can observe live moss specimens provided by East China Normal University under a microscope, and participate in interaction through AR group photo machines, AI painting, and other methods. The museum has also prepared a variety of moss cultural and creative products for the audience to choose from.
