Mosses have no vascular system to move water and nutrients around the plant. The pith which is the site of food production and storage, and the cortical layer which serves to absorb water and protect the pith. The stem portion consists of two important sections. Sphagnum has a distinctive cellular structure. Along the stem are scattered leaves of various shapes, named stem leaves the shape varies according to species.

The top of the plant ( capitulum) has compact clusters of young branches that give the plant it's characteristic tuft-like appearance.

Sphagnum structure Īn individual Sphagnum plant consists of a main stem, with tightly arranged clusters of branch fascicles usually consisting of two or three spreading branches and two to four hanging branches. Different species of Sphagnum have different tolerance limits for flooding and pH, and any one peatland may have a number of different Sphagnum species. Under the right conditions, peat can accumulate to a depth of many meters. Peat moss can also acidify its surroundings by taking up cations, such as calcium and magnesium, and releasing hydrogen ions. In addition, bogs, like all wetlands, develop anaerobic soil conditions, which produces slower anaerobic decay rather than aerobic microbial action. Sphagnum and the peat formed from it do not decay readily because of the phenolic compounds embedded in the moss's cell walls. These peat accumulations then provide habitat for a wide array of peatland plants, including sedges and ericaceous shrubs, as well as orchids and carnivorous plants. Thus, Sphagnum can influence the composition of such habitats, with some describing Sphagnum as 'habitat manipulators'. The empty cells help retain water in drier conditions.Īs Sphagnum moss grows, it can slowly spread into drier conditions, forming larger mires, both raised bogs and blanket bogs. 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. Sphagnum is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). For a genus of crustaceans, see Sphaeromatidae.

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