''Sphagnum palustre'' (Syn. ''Sphagnum cymbifolium''), the prairie sphagnum or blunt-leaved bogmoss, is a species of peat moss from the genus ''

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, peat moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store wa ...

'', 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.

Traits

''Sphagnum palustre'' forms firm plants up to 25 centimeter height. The plants are often light green to light brown with stem diameters of 0.6 to 1.2 millimeters. The

epidermis The epidermis is the outermost of the three layers that comprise the skin, the inner layers being the dermis and Subcutaneous tissue, hypodermis. The epidermis layer provides a barrier to infection from environmental pathogens and regulates the ...

(Hyalodermis) of the stem is built in three layers and their cells form 1 to 3 seldom more pores and contain much spiral fibers. The branches are tufted forming clusters of three to six on the little stems. The heads are a little more pigmented and egg-shaped.

Distribution

''Sphagnum palustre'' plants are spread across the whole of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

and also can be found in parts of

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

, Australia and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. 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 fimbriatum'', the fringed bogmoss, is a slender ''Sphagnum'' moss. Description A typical ''Sphagnum'', the fringed bog-moss is all green. The terminal bud on the capitula is easy to see, and the branches are very narrow and long. Th ...

'', ''

Sphagnum subnitens ''Sphagnum subnitens'' is a species of moss belonging to the family Sphagnaceae. It has almost cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the ...

'', and ''

Sphagnum squarrosum ''Sphagnum squarrosum'', commonly known as the spiky bog-moss or spreading-leaved bog moss is a species of moss which grows in nutrient-rich, damp soil. Typical habitats include woodland, the banks of streams and ditches; it can even be found at ...

''. ''Sphagnum palustre'' is invading the native habitat at Ka'ala, O'ahu, Hawai'i. It became established after a sample was brought to the island by a botanist in 1960. Although the environment does not allow the plant to reproduce sexually via spores, it is capable of spreading through

vegetative reproduction Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or spe ...

. It currently occupies an area estimated at 17.3 acres. Coordinated eradication efforts have proved difficult.

British distribution

Sphagnum palustre is found all over the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles (O ...

. It is less frequent just north of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and west through to

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

and patches in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

. It is widespread in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) nort ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

and the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

. It can be found on Scilly.

Threat

''Sphagnum palustre'' is not on the IUCN

red list The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biolog ...

of threatened species and therefore isn't considered to be threatened or endangered.

Uses

In a project called Mossclone which is part of the 7th framework program of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

the peat moss ''Sphagnum palustre'' will be multiplied in moss bioreactors to create a measuring tool to track air quality in Europe.Website of the research project
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References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1385612 palustre