Moss is a widely used roofing material in the Pacific Northwest. Okay, I'm kidding about that, but in our cool, damp corner of the country you will see plenty of roofs covered with a heavy layer of moss. However, this is the only mossy roof that I've seen that also hosts such a heavy cover of licorice fern. This roof would almost qualify as an eco roof!
The licorice fern is one of several deciduous Pacific Northwest ferns. Licorice fern generally is found growing in locations that are very dry in the summer, especially in moss on tree bark, on cliffs, and on talus slopes. Licorice ferns begins to appear with the fall rains and persists until late spring.
If you let moss grow on a roof long enough, licorice ferns will even find a home there, too.
Ash Creek Images
Photographs of the West by Doug Gorsline
Licorice Fern and Moss on a Barn Roof in the Skagit River Valley, Washington.
