Sphagnum also been used to preserve food. Up to 2000-year-old containers of butter or lard have been found. "Sphagnum" moss has also been used for centuries as a dressing for wounds, including through World War I. Since it is absorptive and extremely acidic, it inhibits growth of bacteria and fungi, so it is used for shipping seeds and live plants. Peat moss is used to dispose of the clarified liquid output (effluent) from septic tanks in areas that lack the proper conditions for ordinary disposal means. It is also used as an environmentally friendly alternative to chlorine in swimming pool sanitation.
Sphagnum palustre marshy meadows, but rarely in moors. The species often forms large carpets, sometimes bulge-shaped. It is often accompanied by "Sphagnum fimbriatum", "Sphagnum subnitens", and "Sphagnum squarrosum". "Sphagnum palustre" is invading the native habitat at Ka'ala, O'ahu, Hawai'i. It became established after a sample was brought to the island by a botanist in 1960. Although the environment does not allow the plant to reproduce sexually via spores, it is capable of spreading through vegetative reproduction. It currently occupies an area estimated at 17.3 acres. Coordinated eradication efforts have proved difficult. Sphagnum palustre is found all over the British Isles. It is