Moss in smoking malt in the production of Scotch whisky. "Sphagnum" moss, generally the species "S. cristatum" and "S. subnitens", is harvested while still growing and is dried out to be used in nurseries and horticulture as a plant growing medium. The practice of harvesting "peat moss" should not be confused with the harvesting of "moss peat". "Peat moss" can be harvested on a sustainable basis and managed so that regrowth is allowed, whereas the harvesting of "moss peat" is generally considered to cause significant environmental damage as the peat is stripped with little or no chance of recovery. Some "Sphagnum"
Sphagnum short-lived, and consists almost entirely of a shiny green, spherical spore capsule that becomes black with spores. Sporophytes are raised on stalks to facilitate spore dispersal, but unlike other mosses, "Sphagnum" stalks are produced by the maternal gametophyte. Tetrahedral haploid spores are produced in the sporophyte by meiosis, which are then dispersed when the capsule explosively discharges its cap, called an operculum, and shoots the spores some distance. The spores germinate to produce minute protonemae, which start as filaments, can become thalloid, and can produce a few rhizoids. Soon afterwards, the protonema develops buds and these differentiate into its characteristic,