Sphagnum in establishment of new populations in disturbed habitats and on islands. Decayed, dried sphagnum moss has the name of peat or peat moss. This is used as a soil conditioner which increases the soil's capacity to hold water and nutrients by increasing capillary forces and cation exchange capacity. This is often necessary when dealing with very sandy soil, or plants that need increased or steady moisture content to flourish. A distinction is sometimes made between sphagnum moss, the live moss growing on top of a peat bog, and 'sphagnum peat moss' (North American usage) or 'sphagnum peat' (British usage), the
Aspasia (plant) active growth. They need at least 75% of humidity and good ventilation all the time. Moderate weekly fertilizing with a balanced formula is beneficial during active growth. They may be potted in a compost of half-chopped Sphagnum, vegetable fiber, and some medium-sized lumps of charcoal, or mounted on plaques of vegetable fiber, however, if mounted, they will need more frequent waterings. The genus "Aspasia" was proposed by John Lindley in 1833 when he described its type species, "Aspasia epidendroides". The name of the genus is a reference to Aspasia of Miletus a friend of Pericles. Its original description is very