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
Sphagnum all other land plants, has an alternation of generations; like other bryophytes, the haploid gametophyte generation is dominant and persistent. Unlike other mosses, the long-lived gametophytes do not rely upon rhizoids to assist in water uptake. "Sphagnum" species can be unisexual (male or female, dioecious) or bisexual (male and female gametes produced from the same plant; monoecious); In North America, 80% of "Sphagnum" species are unisexual. Gametophytes have substantial asexual reproduction by fragmentation, producing much of the living material in sphagnum peatlands. Swimming sperm fertilize eggs contained in archegonia that remain attached to the female gametophyte. The sporophyte is relatively