Sphagnum palustre less frequent just North of London and west through to Bristol and patches in the Republic of Ireland. It is widespread in Scotland, Wales, Orkney, Shetland and the Isle of Man. It can be found on Scilly. "Sphagnum palustre" is not on the IUCN red list of threatened species and therefore isn’t considered to be threatened or endangered. In a project called Mossclone which is part of the 7th framework program of the European Union the peat moss "Sphagnum palustre" will be multiplied in moss bioreactors to create a measuring tool to track air quality in Europe. Sphagnum palustre Sphagnum
Moss teeth called peristome. This may be absent in some mosses. Most mosses rely on the wind to disperse the spores. In the genus "Sphagnum" the spores are projected about off the ground by compressed air contained in the capsules; the spores are accelerated to about 36,000 times the earth's gravitational acceleration "g". It has recently been found that microarthropods, such as springtails and mites, can effect moss fertilization and that this process is mediated by moss-emitted scents. Male and female fire moss, for example emit different and complex volatile organic scents. Female plants emit more compounds than male plants. Springtails