| Sphagnum cuspidatum | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Bryophyta |
| Class: | Sphagnopsida |
| Order: | Sphagnales |
| Family: | Sphagnaceae |
| Genus: | Sphagnum |
| Species: | S. cuspidatum |
| Binomial name | |
| Sphagnum cuspidatum Ehrh. ex Hoffm. | |
Sphagnum cuspidatum, the feathery bogmoss, [1] toothed sphagnum, [2] or toothed peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, the eastern coast of the United States, and in Colombia. [3]
Sphagnum cuspidatum is brown to greenish brown in color with narrow green stems. Individual plants are slender and weak-stemmed. They are moderately sized compared to other peat mosses. [4] Aquatic forms are flaccid and plumose giving a feathery appearance, whereas the emergent forms are much more compact. [4] Branches are spread in quite obvious sickle shaped patterns, giving the capitulum a twisted appearance. [4] The capitula are often green to yellow, tinged with red-brown in color. The leaves on the stems are triangular-ovate in shape, usually a bit longer than 1.2 mm, and are often very compact with one another. The leaves end in sharp points. Meristem tissue is often fibrillose. The branch stems are green, with pinkish coloration at the proximal ends, and the cortex region is enlarged. The leaves on the branches are ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate in shape, and are between 1.6–5 mm in length. These leaves falcate back towards the tips of the branches. When dry, they are often undulate and recurved. In submerged forms, the branch leaves can sometimes be faintly serrated. [4] S. cuspidatum is a dioecious species. The spores produced are 29-38 μm, covered with large papillae on both surfaces, and appear to be covered in small blisters (pusticulate). [5]
S. cuspidatum forms wet carpets in ombrotrophic to weakly minerotrophic mires. [5]
Distinguishing Sphagnum cuspidatum from Sphagnum viride is sometimes difficult as both occur over a similar geographic range and both grow in wet carpets. Sphagnum cuspidatum has narrower branch leaves and usually a distinct red tinge at the branch bases within the capitulum. [5]
Sphagnum cuspidatum is a dominant species in the bogs that it inhabits. [6] In wetlands, they consume methane through symbiosis with partly endophytic methanotrophic bacteria, leading to highly effective in situ methane recycling preventing large-scale methane emission into the atmosphere. The bacteria are present in the hyaline cells of the plant. Sometimes, Sphagnum moss can be infected with another type of fungus that can cause sporotrichosis. The other fungus can enter the body through cuts or scrapes on the skin, and will then cause ulcerous skin lesions. It is therefore advised to wear gloves and long sleeves when handling sphagnum moss, and to avoid contact with the moss against scraped or cut skin. [6]
The moss prefers damp conditions, and is relatively hardy in peat bogs. It does not perform as well in completed submerged conditions as it is incapable of producing sufficient amounts of chlorophyll to grow extensively, and natural causes also result in the death of new shoots produced. [7]
Like most species of Sphagnum, this moss has mild antiseptic capabilities. It is very absorbent and acidic, and therefore creates environments not suitable for bacterial growth. These mosses were used up until World War I to pack wounds on the battlefield to prevent infection.
Sphagnum is also used to decorate hanging baskets, as a packing material in the shipping industry, and in some parts of Africa it is even used to pad cushions and mattresses. Since the moss is capable of holding many times its weight in water, it is useful as a potting material for new plants since it provides consistent moisture. It can also be used in conjunction with decaying organic matter as an effective medium for germinating seeds.
Some species of Sphagnum moss in general have been used as a fuel source in temperate climates. [6]
Sphagnum moss has also been used as a "green" alternative to water purification in public swimming pools; it inhibits bacterial growth, and greatly reduces the amount of chlorine required to maintain sanitary water
Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophytasensu stricto. Bryophyta may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hornworts. Mosses typically form 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. There are approximately 12,000 species.
Sphagnum is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss. Accumulations of Sphagnum can store water, since both living and dead plants can hold large quantities of water inside their cells; plants may hold 16 to 26 times as much water as their dry weight, depending on the species. The empty cells help retain water in drier conditions.
NVC community M1 is one of the mire communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.
NVC community M2 is one of the mire communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.
Helodium blandowii, also known as Blandow's helodium moss, Blandow's tamarisk-moss, Blandow's bogmoss, and Blandow's feathermoss, is a rare plant in the Western U.S., including Oregon and California. It occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes, and in some places is not as rare as in the Western U.S.
Meesia triquetra, the three-ranked hump-moss, is a moss that occurs all around the northern hemisphere in higher latitudes.
Neottia cordata, the lesser twayblade or heartleaf twayblade, is an orchid of upland bogs and mires that rarely exceeds 15 cm (5.9 in) in height. It was formerly placed in the genus Listera, but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that Neottia nidus-avis, the bird's-nest orchid, evolved within the same group.
Aulacomnium palustre, the bog groove-moss or ribbed bog moss, is a moss that is nearly cosmopolitan in distribution. It occurs in North America, Hispaniola, Venezuela, Eurasia, and New Zealand. In North America, it occurs across southern arctic, subboreal, and boreal regions from Alaska and British Columbia to Greenland and Quebec. Documentation of ribbed bog moss's distribution in the contiguous United States is probably incomplete. It is reported sporadically south to Washington, Wyoming, Georgia, and Virginia.
Sphagnum magellanicum, commonly called Magellanic bogmoss, Magellan's sphagnum, Magellan's peatmoss or midway peat moss, is a widespread species of moss found in wet boreal forest in the far south and southwest of South America, North America and Eurasia.
Sphagnum palustre, the prairie sphagnum or blunt-leaved bogmoss, is a species of peat moss from the genus Sphagnum, in the family Sphagnaceae. Like other mosses of this type it can soak up water up to the 30-fold amount of its own dry weight thanks to its elastic spiral fibers. S. palustre is rather frequent and is spread almost all over the world. It mainly grows in wet forests and—compared to other specimens of this genus—rarely grows in moors.
Sphagnum capillifolium, the red bogmoss, northern peat moss, acute-leaved bog-moss, or small red peat moss, is a species of peat moss native to Canada, the northern United States, Greenland, and Europe. Small red peat moss can be distinguished by its sweeping, outward-curving branches that resemble tresses. Sphagnum moss can hold large amounts of water within its cells, up to 20 times its own weight. This capability is due to its dead, empty cells called hyaline cells that fill up with water. This allows the moss to survive in wet, boggy habitats around rivers and lakes.
Sphagnum fuscum, the rusty bogmoss or rusty peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Norway and Sweden, and can be found scattered across North America, the United Kingdom, and in southern to eastern Europe.
A floating mat is a layer of mosses and other, especially stoloniferous, plants that grows out from the shore across the surface of a lake or pond. This type of habitat is protected and is designated in the European Habitats Directive as "LRT No. 7140 Transition and Floating Mat Bogs".
Polytrichum strictum, commonly known as bog haircap moss or strict haircap, is an evergreen and perennial species of moss native to Sphagnum bogs and other moist habitats in temperate climates. It has a circumboreal distribution, and is also found in South America and Antarctica.
Abietinella abietina is a species of moss in the family Thuidiaceae. It is a small, distinctive pleurocarpous moss with stems that are erect and branches which are spreading, reminiscent of a tiny conifer. Its extremely rare variety abietina is grown with the commoner var. hystricosa on coastal sand dunes. Abietinella abietina is a species which is perennial in terms of growing season, which means it can be found during all months of the year.
Sphagnum papillosum, the papillose peatmoss, is a species of peat moss distributed throughout the northern hemisphere. Although sometimes confused with Sphagnum imbricatum and Sphagnum palustre, it is distinguished by its yellow-green to brown short, blunt branches and papillose chlorophyllose cells.
Warnstorfia fluitans, the floating hook-moss or water hook-moss, is a species of moss found in acidic habitats across all continents except Antarctica.
Ptychostomum pseudotriquetrum, commonly known as marsh bryum, is a species of moss belonging to the family Bryaceae.
Coprosma moorei, commonly known as blue matcurrant or turquoise coprosma, is a small, mat forming, prostrate shrub in the Rubiaceae family. It is native to highland areas of Tasmania and Eastern Victoria.
Sphagnum australe is a species of Sphagnum found in southeastern Australia.