Main Difference
The main difference between Mold and Moss is that the Mold is a diverse group of fungi and Moss is a division of plants.
-
Mold
A mold (US) or mould (UK / NZ / AU / ZA / IN / CA / IE) is a fungus that grows in the form of multicellular filaments called hyphae. In contrast, fungi that can adopt a single-celled growth habit are called yeasts.
Molds are a large and taxonomically diverse number of fungal species in which the growth of hyphae results in discoloration and a fuzzy appearance, especially on food. The network of these tubular branching hyphae, called a mycelium, is considered a single organism. The hyphae are generally transparent, so the mycelium appears like very fine, fluffy white threads over the surface. Cross-walls (septa) may delimit connected compartments along the hyphae, each containing one or multiple, genetically identical nuclei. The dusty texture of many molds is caused by profuse production of asexual spores (conidia) formed by differentiation at the ends of hyphae. The mode of formation and shape of these spores is traditionally used to classify molds. Many of these spores are colored, making the fungus much more obvious to the human eye at this stage in its life-cycle.
Molds are considered to be microbes and do not form a specific taxonomic or phylogenetic grouping, but can be found in the divisions Zygomycota and Ascomycota. In the past, most molds were classified within the Deuteromycota.Molds cause biodegradation of natural materials, which can be unwanted when it becomes food spoilage or damage to property. They also play important roles in biotechnology and food science in the production of various foods, beverages, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals and enzymes. Some diseases of animals and humans can be caused by certain molds: disease may result from allergic sensitivity to mold spores, from growth of pathogenic molds within the body, or from the effects of ingested or inhaled toxic compounds (mycotoxins) produced by molds.
-
Moss
Mosses are small flowerless plants that typically grow in dense green clumps or mats, often in damp or shady locations. The individual plants are usually composed of simple leaves that are generally only one cell thick, attached to a stem that may be branched or unbranched and has only a limited role in conducting water and nutrients. Although some species have conducting tissues, these are generally poorly developed and structurally different from similar tissue found in vascular plants. Mosses do not have seeds and after fertilisation develop sporophytes with unbranched stalks topped with single capsules containing spores. They are typically 0.2–10 cm (0.1–3.9 in) tall, though some species are much larger. Dawsonia, the tallest moss in the world, can grow to 50 cm (20 in) in height.
Mosses are commonly confused with lichens, hornworts, and liverworts. Lichens may superficially look like mosses, and have common names that include the word “moss” (e.g., “reindeer moss” or “Iceland moss”), but are not related to mosses. Mosses used to be grouped together with the hornworts and liverworts as “non-vascular” plants in the former division “bryophytes”, all of them having the haploid gametophyte generation as the dominant phase of the life cycle. This contrasts with the pattern in all vascular plants (seed plants and pteridophytes), where the diploid sporophyte generation is dominant.
Mosses are now classified on their own as the division Bryophyta. There are approximately 12,000 species.The main commercial significance of mosses is as the main constituent of peat (mostly the genus Sphagnum), although they are also used for decorative purposes, such as in gardens and in the florist trade. Traditional uses of mosses included as insulation and for the ability to absorb liquids up to 20 times their weight.
-
Mold (noun)
A hollow form or matrix for shaping a fluid or plastic substance.
-
Mold (noun)
A frame or model around or on which something is formed or shaped.
-
Mold (noun)
Something that is made in or shaped on a mold.
-
Mold (noun)
The shape or pattern of a mold.
-
Mold (noun)
General shape or form.
“the oval mold of her face”
-
Mold (noun)
Distinctive character or type.
“a leader in the mold of her predecessors”
-
Mold (noun)
A fixed or restrictive pattern or form.
“His method of scientific investigation broke the mold and led to a new discovery.”
-
Mold (noun)
A group of moldings.
“the arch mold of a porch or doorway;”
“the pier mold of a Gothic pier, meaning the whole profile, section, or combination of parts”
-
Mold (noun)
A fontanelle.
-
Mold (noun)
A natural substance in the form of a woolly or furry growth of tiny fungi that appears when organic material lies for a long time exposed to (usually warm and moist) air.
-
Mold (noun)
Loose friable soil, rich in humus and fit for planting.
-
Mold (noun)
Earth, ground.
-
Mold (verb)
To shape in or on a mold.
-
Mold (verb)
To form into a particular shape; to give shape to.
-
Mold (verb)
To guide or determine the growth or development of; influence
-
Mold (verb)
To fit closely by following the contours of.
-
Mold (verb)
To make a mold of or from (molten metal, for example) before casting.
-
Mold (verb)
To ornament with moldings.
-
Mold (verb)
To be shaped in or as if in a mold.
“These shoes gradually molded to my feet.”
-
Mold (verb)
To cause to become moldy; to cause mold to grow upon.
-
Mold (verb)
To become moldy; to be covered or filled, in whole or in part, with a mold.
-
Mold (verb)
To cover with mold or soil.
-
Moss (noun)
Any of various small, green, seedless plants growing on the ground or on the surfaces of trees, stones, etc.; now specifically, a plant of the phylum Bryophyta (formerly division noshow=1).
“bryophyte”
-
Moss (noun)
A kind or species of such plants.
-
Moss (noun)
Any alga, lichen, bryophyte, or other plant of seemingly simple structure.
“alga|cryptogam|lichen”
“Spanish moss”
“Irish moss”
“club moss”
-
Moss (noun)
A bog; a fen.
“the mosses of the Scottish border”
-
Moss (verb)
To become covered with moss.
“An oak whose boughs were mossed with age.”
-
Moss (verb)
To cover (something) with moss.
-
Mold (noun)
a town in north-eastern Wales, administrative centre of Flintshire; population 10,500 (est. 2009).
-
Moss (noun)
a small flowerless green plant which lacks true roots, growing in low carpets or rounded cushions in damp habitats and reproducing by means of spores released from stalked capsules
“the bog is home to rare mosses”
“the trees are overgrown with vines and moss”
-
Moss (noun)
used in names of algae, lichens, and higher plants resembling moss, e.g. reindeer moss, Ceylon moss, Spanish moss.
-
Moss (noun)
a green colour like that of moss.
-
Moss (noun)
a bog, especially a peat bog.
-
Moss (verb)
cover with moss
“the mossed old trees”