Sphagnum moss under the microscope

Today with the help of technical services officer Emily Hunter at RGU's Botanical and Life Sciences school I watched as the tiniest of plant parts and patterns came into focus on the digital microscope. Here are some of the images taken. 

A good start to see the mechanism that Sphagnum moss has which makes it draw up 20 times its weight in liquid. A mechanism that helped save many lives during the First World War when this antiseptic moss was used in bandages and wound dressings to stanch bleeding and stop infection.
The structure will be explored further through painting.