GOT LUMUT?

We don't grow Douglas firs or build snow men, but in the islands we do have lumut!

Which means we can build awesome belens, or nativity scenes, which I would suggest have more to do with Christmas than reindeer and the North Pole.

 

Lumut is a moss that grows wild in the dark, moist and rocky interior of what's left of Guam's forests.  The shade that the trees provide encourages its growth. 

 

 

A lumut-covered landscape can look charmingly other-worldy, as if elves are about to run from their jungle hiding places.

The lumut has to be carefully pulled from the coral rocks so as to tear them up in as large a piece as possible.  This way, a large piece of lumut can lie almost like a single carpet on the floor of the belen.

Twigs, leaves, insects and the like all have to be taken out of the lumut.  When stored in a plastic bag, the lumut should be folded in, with the brown underside exposed, to keep the moisture in and the lumut green.

A lumut-covered belen.  Much better, I think, than store-bought green carpets, papier-mache or fabric.