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Prairie sphagnum

Sphagnum palustre

Also called Blunt-leaved bog-moss, Prairie sphagnum moss, Blunt Leaved Peat Moss, Prairie Peatmoss

Prairie sphagnum
Photo: James K. Lindsey, CC BY-SA 3.0
Family
Sphagnaceae (Sphagn family)
Water
Likes moisture

About

Sphagnum palustre (Syn. Sphagnum cymbifolium), 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.

Where it grows

Sphagnum palustre plants are spread across the whole of Europe and also can be found in parts of America, Australia and New Zealand. It is comparatively frequent and grows on moist and wet habitats like wet forests, often coniferous forests, on marshy meadows, but rarely in moors. The species often forms large carpets, sometimes bulge-shaped. It is often accompanied by Sphagnum fimbriatum, Sphagnum subnitens, and Sphagnum squarrosum.

Uses

In a project called Mossclone which is part of the 7th framework program of the European Union the peat moss Sphagnum palustre will be multiplied in moss bioreactors to create a measuring tool to track air quality in Europe.

Other Sphagnum plants

Sphagnum · Sphagnum · Aongstroem's sphagnum · Austin's sphagnum · Plants · Sphagnum · Sphagnum · Low sphagnum · Contorted sphagnum · Toothed sphagnum · Sphagnum · Sphagnum falcatulum

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sphagnum palustre by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.

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