The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Polytrichum strictum
Also called Strict Haircap, Bog Haircap Moss
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.
Polytrichum strictum is found throughout Canada, the northern half of the United States, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, northern Europe and Asia, as well as Antarctica and the southern half of South America. It is characteristic of boggy peatland habitats dominated by Sphagnum mosses, but can also be found in wet heaths, tundra, sedge meadows, and peaty forests from low to high elevations; in warmer climates, it is largely confined to relict bogs. Its microhabitat is at the top of peat hummocks, which it often helps to form.
Polytrichum strictum is considered an important pioneer species in peatlands, able to tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions and disturbance regimes. It is instrumental in preventing frost heaving in harvested peatlands, and research suggests it can be used in the restoration of unstable peat areas, although little is known about whether it aids or hinders Sphagnum growth.
Bank Haircap Moss · Polytrichum moss · Polytrichum moss · Juniper polytrichum moss · Polytrichum moss · Ohio polytrichum moss · Polytrichum moss · Polytrichum moss
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Polytrichum strictum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
