Sphagnum cuspidatum moss, and to avoid contact with the moss against scraped or cut skin. The moss prefers damp conditions, and is relatively hardy in peat bogs. It does not perform as well in completed submerged conditions as it is incapable of producing sufficient amounts of chlorophyll to grow extensively, and natural causes also result in the death of new shoots produced. Like most species of "Sphagnum", this moss has mild antiseptic capabilities. It is very absorbent and acidic, and therefore creates environments not suitable for bacterial growth. These mosses were used up until World War I to pack wounds on the
Portlethen Moss saturated organic layers could actually rupture, spilling large volumes of mud and organic debris to surrounding fields, thus enabling a bed for further spatial expansion of the entire bog. Ultimately the colour of the moss waters became blood red in colour, from the successive organic decay and stagnation. Only in times associated with cattle grazing and significant human presence (probably the late Iron Age), would this process reverse and the bog reduce in size. A wide variety of sphagnum, sedges, rushes and other characteristic bog species inhabit Portlethen Moss. Sometimes insectivorous plants reside in mosses, since the soils are generally