Sphagnum- Moss

- Common Name: Peat Moss
- Classification:
Kingdom: Plantae
Division : Bryophyta
Subdivision: Musci
Class: Sphagnopsida
Subclass: Sphagnidae
Order: Sphagnales
Family: Sphagnaceae
Genus: Sphagnum
Habitat: These perennial plants live in exceptionally damp environments where
water collects or drips down rocky slopes. They are aquatic or sub-aquatic in
habit.
General Characters:
Having a wide thallose protonema that develops into a single regular
gametophytic plant sets them apart from other mosses.
Plants are upright and have a group of branches close to the top that give
them a distinctive appearance.
Sphagnum leaves are made up of bands of much bigger cells that die soon
after they are produced, encircled by strands of small, living cells with lots
of chloroplasts.
The huge number of non-living cells that can absorb water and the capacity
of the mat of plants to retain water between individual plants are the two
main reasons why sphagnum can hold so much water.
Rhizoids in mosses are multicellular, branching structures with oblique septa
between the cells; this feature is thought to be an adaptation for accelerating
conduction. (Goebal, 1805)