As the result of an extensive cooperative project in the 1960s between a botanical garden and the biology classes of a large school system, Powell Laboratories assisted educators and students by supplying some of the material used. We followed the development of a primitive plant study area in one corner of the Botanical Building at Balboa Park, San Diego, California with keen interest.
This botanical garden, in common with most such establishments, contained primarily vascular plants and modern flowering plants, known as angiosperms. Such cryptogams as were present were accidental and sporadic — algal contaminants in pools and weedy mosses in flower pots. Recognizing the need of biology students for an opportunity to observe living primitive plants, Mr. Albert Mayrhofer, biology teacher in the Grossmont Union High School District, proposed that an area in the Botanical Building at Balboa Park be organized to display algae, bryophytes like mosses and liverworts, and some primitive ferns.
This proposal was taken to the Community Educational Resources Advisory Committee and resulted in the formation of a special task group that worked with the City Park Planning Commission and Mr. David Roberts, Director of the Balboa Park Nursery, to design and plant a representative selection of primitive plants.
The Science Coordinator of Powell Laboratories visited the Botanical Garden at Balboa Park and was delighted to find a fragment of the Oregon rain forest thriving in the partial shade and humid atmosphere that had been carefully provided. In addition, Psilotum, Zamia, and pitcher plants, both Sarracenia and Darlingtonia, added to the “primitive” atmosphere. Foreground pools, with associated mosses, liverworts, Selaginella, and other hydrophytic plants, were backed up by boulders covered with lichens, more xeric mosses, and bromeliads. The plants were carefully labeled and attractively displayed.
Students visiting this project are provided with a 12-page booklet that contains a review of the plant kingdom with emphasis on the types in the primitive plant display area.
We at Powell Laboratories were happy to be associated with this project. This approach to demonstration teaching serves not only the students of the area but also many adults who are made aware, perhaps for the first time, of these interesting but often overlooked plants.
Our photographs were furnished by Charles A. Koepke HI, Secondary Coordinator, Community Educational Resources, Department of Education, San Diego County.
![[IMAGE 1 Entrance to the Balboa Park Botanical Building.]](https://knowledge.carolina.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Fig_1_F-scaled.jpg)
![[IMAGE 2 The Primitive Plant Study Area.]](https://knowledge.carolina.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Fig_2_F-scaled.jpg)
The importance of outdoor education sites and student involvement in creating them has not waned since the 1960s. Today, student led outdoor projects include school vegetable gardens, bird and butterfly gardens, xeric landscape projects, and wetland or bog gardens. The projects take planning and partnerships with outside experts are helpful. Here are a few suggestions to help gear up your planning for a primitive plant study area.
A primitive plant study area is a living classroom designed to help students observe some of the earliest types of land plants, many of which are sporophytes, some resembling ancient fossils like Rhynia that predated the Cretaceous period and the rise of conifers, including mosses, liverworts, ferns, horsetails, and club mosses. These plants are often called primitive because they reproduce by spores (sporophyte), rather than functioning as a typical seed plant, and many depend on moisture for part of their life cycle. A well-planned study area should imitate the cool, shaded, damp habitats where these plants naturally grow.
Begin by choosing a protected location with partial to full shade, such as the north side of a building, under trees, or near a shaded outdoor learning space. If the study area must be indoors, use a shallow tray, aquarium, terrarium, or large plastic bin with drainage control. Outdoors, outline a small bed with stones, untreated wood, or bricks. A size of about 3 feet by 6 feet is large enough for observation but small enough to maintain. Add a base layer of leaf litter, compost, and slightly acidic woodland soil. Include flat rocks, pieces of bark, and a small rotting log to create different surfaces for mosses and fern spores. Avoid rich fertilizer because many primitive plants do best in modest, natural soils.
The plant collection should show variety. Mosses can be used as a ground cover on soil, stones, or bark. Liverworts may be grown in very moist, shaded corners or in terrarium sections. Ferns and other pteridophytes provide height and visible structures such as fronds, fiddleheads, and spores on the undersides of leaves. Good choices include maidenhair fern, Christmas fern, sensitive fern, or other locally appropriate ferns. Horsetails can demonstrate jointed stems and spore cones, but they spread aggressively, so they should be grown only in a buried pot or separate container. Club mosses, spike mosses, and quillworts—collectively known as lycopods—are useful for comparison because they look mosslike but are vascular plants related to ferns.
Plant care should focus on steady moisture, shade, and gentle observation. Water with rainwater, distilled water, or dechlorinated tap water when possible, since some mosses are sensitive to minerals and chemicals. The soil should stay evenly damp but not constantly flooded, except for plants specifically placed in a boggy container. Mist mosses and liverworts regularly, especially in dry weather or heated classrooms. Ferns should be watered at the soil level and mulched lightly with leaf litter to keep roots cool. Remove weeds by hand so they do not outcompete the slower-growing plants.
To make the area useful for study, add simple labels for each plant group and include questions such as: Does this plant have true roots? Does it make seeds? Where are the spores produced? Students can keep observation journals, sketch fronds and moss cushions, identify the visible gametophyte stage, compare textures, and record moisture, light, and growth changes over time. A primitive plant study area requires patience, but it rewards careful observers by showing how ancient plant groups survive, reproduce, and support damp, shaded ecosystems.
| Common Plant Group | Scientific Classification | Key Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Mosses | Kingdom Plantae; Division Bryophyta | Nonvascular plants that reproduce by spores and usually grow in moist, shaded habitats. |
| Liverworts | Kingdom Plantae; Division Marchantiophyta | Nonvascular plants with flat or leafy bodies that often grow on damp soil, rocks, or logs. |
| Ferns | Kingdom Plantae; seedless vascular plants often grouped with monilophytes | Vascular plants with true roots, stems, and fronds; spores form in structures often found on the undersides of fronds. |
| Horsetails | Kingdom Plantae; Genus Equisetum; seedless vascular plants related to ferns | Jointed, hollow stems with spores produced in cone-like structures called strobili. |
| Club Mosses | Kingdom Plantae; Division Lycopodiophyta | Seedless vascular plants that resemble mosses but have true vascular tissue and spore-producing cones. |
| Spike Mosses | Kingdom Plantae; Division Lycopodiophyta; Genus Selaginella | Small seedless vascular plants related to club mosses; many prefer moist, shaded conditions. |
For an outdoor primitive plant study area, choose a shaded or partially shaded location where the soil stays naturally cool and moist. A north-facing wall, the edge of a wooded area, or a spot beneath trees can work well. Avoid open areas with strong afternoon sun, heavy foot traffic, or places where water stands for long periods after rain. Before planting, clear grass and weeds by hand, then loosen the top few inches of soil. Mix in compost, leaf mold, or decomposed leaves to create a woodland-like bed that holds moisture but still drains well. If the soil is sandy, add extra organic matter; if it is heavy clay, add compost and a little coarse material to improve drainage.
Plant ferns first because they give the space structure and help define the study area. Set each fern at the same depth it was growing in its pot, firm the soil gently around the roots, and water thoroughly. Leave enough room between plants for mature fronds to spread. Mosses and liverworts should be placed on damp soil, rocks, bark, or rotting wood and pressed gently into contact with the surface. Keep horsetails and other spreading plants in containers or buried pots so they do not take over the bed. Add stones, small logs, and labels to create observation stations without disturbing the plants.
Outdoor care should focus on keeping the space damp, shaded, and undisturbed. Water deeply during dry periods, especially during the first growing season, and mist mossy areas when weather is hot or windy. A light layer of leaf litter or shredded leaves can help hold moisture and keep fern roots cool, but do not bury small moss patches. Remove fallen branches, thick piles of leaves, and weeds by hand. Check labels and borders regularly so the study area remains organized. In winter, leave some natural leaf cover in place to protect crowns and rhizomes, then gently clean up old fronds in early spring before new growth appears.
Keep the study area consistently moist, but avoid flooding unless a plant is placed in a boggy container.
Provide partial to full shade to protect mosses, liverworts, and ferns from drying out.
Use rainwater, distilled water, or dechlorinated tap water when possible.
Mist mosses and liverworts during dry, hot, or windy weather.
Mulch lightly with leaf litter to keep soil cool, but do not bury small moss patches.
Remove weeds by hand so slower-growing primitive plants are not crowded out.
Keep horsetails and other spreading plants in containers or buried pots to control growth.
Check labels, borders, rocks, and logs regularly to keep the study area organized and safe for observation.
Limit foot traffic and handling so delicate plants are not damaged.
Leave some natural leaf cover in winter, then gently clean up old fronds in early spring.
A primitive plant study area provides a hands-on way to observe early land plants and understand how they grow, reproduce, and survive in damp, shaded environments. The area should be designed to resemble a woodland habitat, using shade, moist soil, leaf litter, rocks, bark, and rotting wood to support mosses, liverworts, ferns, horsetails, club mosses, and spike mosses. These plants offer useful comparisons between nonvascular plants and seedless vascular plants, and their scientific classifications help students connect plant structure with evolutionary relationships.
Whether the study area is built indoors or outdoors, successful care depends on steady moisture, protection from harsh sun, limited disturbance, careful watering, and regular removal of weeds or debris. With labels, observation questions, and student journals, the space becomes more than a garden; it becomes a living laboratory for studying primitive plant diversity and plant life cycles.
This article was originally published in Carolina Tips®, Vol. 26, No. 5 (June 1963); it was revised July 2026.
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