Sphagnum fuscum Sphagnum fuscum Sphagnum fuscum, the rusty bogmoss or rusty peat moss, is a peat moss found commonly in Norway and Sweden, and can be found scattered across North America, the United Kingdom, and in southern to eastern Europe. "Sphagnum fuscum" is brown to greenish brown in color with slender brown stems. It is individually less robust than other peat mosses, especially when clumped into compact hummocks. The moss will form thread-like branches interwoven within hummocks. The leaves along the stem are tongue-shaped, while the leaves along the branches are pointed and lance-shaped. During the sporophyte stage, the moss will have
Aulacomnium palustre plant communities, and individual moss species often have low cover and/or frequency. Moss species with coverages of 2% to 4% can be common to dominant in boreal communities, although ribbed bog moss attains coverages as great as 40% in some boreal communities. Ribbed bog moss grows in open and forested wetland communities. In unforested northern communities, ribbed bog moss is found in sedge ("Carex" spp.) meadows, sphagnum ("Sphagnum" spp.) peatlands, heath-sedge fens, and willow ("Salix" spp.)-dominated fens. In forests, ribbed bog moss grows in the ground layer of boreal and subboreal white spruce ("Picea glauca"), black spruce ("P. mariana"), mixed