Sphagnum ericaceous shrubs, as well as orchids and carnivorous plants. "Sphagnum" and the peat formed from it do not decay readily because of the phenolic compounds embedded in the moss's cell walls. In addition, bogs, like all wetlands, develop anaerobic soil conditions, which produces slower anaerobic decay rather than aerobic microbial action. Peat moss can also acidify its surroundings by taking up cations, such as calcium and magnesium, and releasing hydrogen ions. Under the right conditions, peat can accumulate to a depth of many meters. Different species of "Sphagnum" have different tolerance limits for flooding and pH, so any one peatland
Scheuchzeria species was known from, and only one where it currently occurs; it is extinct at a few other wetland sites further south in Britain, being found in pools and west hollows of ancient undisturbed Sphagnum bogs. Scheuchzeria Scheuchzeria palustris (Rannoch-rush, or pod grass), is a flowering plant in the family Scheuchzeriaceae, in which there is only one species and Scheuchzeria is the only genus. In the APG II system it is placed in the order Alismatales of the monocots. It is a herbaceous perennial plant, native to cool temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, where it grows in wet "Sphagnum"