Sphagnum palustre Sphagnum palustre Sphagnum palustre (Syn. "Sphagnum cymbifolium"), the prairie sphagnum or blunt-leaved bogmoss, is a species of peat moss from the genus "Sphagnum", in the family Sphagnaceae. Like other mosses of this type it can soak up water up to the 30-fold amount of its own dry weight thanks to its elastic spiral fibers. "S. palustre" is rather frequent and is spread almost all over the world. It mainly grows in wet forests and—compared to other specimens of this genus—rarely grows in moors. "Sphagnum palustre" forms firm plants up to 25 centimeter height. The plants are often light green to
Moss in cities. Examples would be "Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus", a garden weed in Vancouver and Seattle areas; "Bryum argenteum", the cosmopolitan sidewalk moss, and "Ceratodon purpureus", red roof moss, another cosmopolitan species. A few species are wholly aquatic, such as "Fontinalis antipyretica", common water moss; and others such as "Sphagnum" inhabit bogs, marshes and very slow-moving waterways. Such aquatic or semi-aquatic mosses can greatly exceed the normal range of lengths seen in terrestrial mosses. Individual plants or more long are common in "Sphagnum" species for example. Wherever they occur, mosses require liquid water for at least part of the year to complete