publicdomainreview:“Pushing against its scientific reputation as downright boring, moss in p
publicdomainreview: “Pushing against its scientific reputation as downright boring, moss in particular served to create some botanical, aesthetic sense of a setting that allowed for illicit sexual encounters and for primal yearnings. The reasons for this strange dual identity of bryophytes as both mundane and as primal are relatively clear: realistically, moss provided a soft bed for sexual romps that had to take place outside of stuffy Victorian homes. Serving, perhaps predictably, as a slang term for pubic hair, moss was understood to be consistently moist and jewel-like, glittering like emerald colonies under light. ”Extract from Elaine Ayers’ essay “Richard Spruce and the Trials of Victorian Bryology”, one of the 14 wonderful pieces to be found in our new book of essays. More details here: http://bit.ly/2fvOeyC(Pictured: Plate 72 from Ernst Haeckel’s Kunstformen der Natur 1904, depicting a grove of mosses.) -- source link
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