Sphagnum Moss When most people hear of Sphagnum Moss they think of Sphagnum Peat Moss. They come from the same place but are not the same product when sold at stores. Sphagnum moss is used in the floral industry to line wire baskets and make wreaths. It is the LIVING moss that grows on top of a sphagnum bog.
Sphagnum peat moss is used as a soil conditioner by gardeners. It is the dead material that accumulates in the lower levels of a sphagnum bog. Harvesters of the horticultural peat moss remove the top few inches of the live sphagnum moss before harvesting the peat from the lower levels of the bog. Peat moss grows in wet swampy bogs. It likes cold temperatures, even below freezing. Peat moss can grow up to 50 centimeters tall. Peat moss grows the most during summer months. It grows close together and forms a thick mat. Its leaves are spear or cup shaped some are thick and swollen with water others are thinner. Leaves can be clear, green, reddish, or yellowish. Peat moss has no flowers or roots.
Sphagnum Moss adapts to its environment by creating its own habitat. It holds rainwater so it cannot drain and that creates a bog. Sphagnum Moss is not endangered because it can grow in a variety of places and does not need to have a lot of water to survive. Peat moss is also dead and alive at the same time. It is alive on the top but on the bottom, under the water, it is dead because there is so little light and it is even partially decayed.
NOTE: Peat moss takes in more nutrients than it needs, leaving the rest of the bog with little nutrients. So it is hard for other plants to grow in bogs. Peat moss also gets nutrients from photosynthesis.
Bogs are challenging environments for plant life because they are low in nutrients and very acidic. Carnivorous plants, such as the Venus Fly Trap, have adapted to these conditions by using insects as a nutrient source. The high acidity of bogs and the absorption of water by sphagnum moss reduce the amount of water available for plants.
Extensive numbers of bogs cover the northern areas of the U.S. states of Minnesota and Michigan, most notably on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. The world's largest wetlands are the bogs of the Western Siberian Lowlands in Russia, Sphagnum bogs were widespread in northern Europe. Ireland was more than 15% bog; Achill Island off Ireland is 87% bog. There are extensive bogs in Canada (called muskegs), Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia, Finland (26% boglands), and northern Germany. |
