Information on Long-Fiber Sphagnum Moss From Wisconsin

Description

• Sphagnum moss is a light green to purple perennial plant that grows in bogs, on acid peat soils. In Wisconsin, sphagnum moss is the main species growing on the ground layer of wetland bogs. Sphagnum moss reaches a height of one to four inches and forms a springy mat wherever it grows. It reproduces from spore capsules, but it takes five to seven years to replenish a marsh once it's been harvested. Sphagnum moss plants produce chemicals that acidify the water they are growing in and keep dead plants from decaying. This eventually results in the formation of peat soil.

Uses

• Long-fibered sphagnum moss can absorb up to 20 times its weight in water and was used by Native Americans as a diaper for babies. Because it is naturally antiseptic, it was also used as a surgical dressing by medics during World War I. Today, horticulturists use it as mulch, for decoration, and as packing around tree and shrub roots prior to shipping. It also helps reduce fungal infections in plants when it's mixed with potting soil.

History

• Sphagnum moss started growing in Wisconsin around 155 million years ago, during the Jurassic time period, when dinosaurs were common. About 2 million years ago, the Great Ice Age began, although, according to the National Park Service, glaciers did not affect Wisconsin until about 70,000 years ago. Sheets of ice, more than a mile thick, covered large parts of the state. When the ice finally melted, it created most of the lakes and wetlands found there. One glacier split, in the central Wisconsin marshlands, creating a large lake that allowed the surviving sphagnum moss to flourish. Today, most sphagnum moss bogs in Wisconsin are found in the northern half of the state.

Sporotrichosis

• Sporotrichosis is a fungal infection that some people can catch from handling sphagnum moss, baled hay, or thorny plants. The fungus enters the skin through small cuts, although it can also be inhaled. It is not contagious. Symptoms include the appearance of a small red, pink or purple bump on the finger or hand where the fungus entered. The bump, which looks like an insect bite, is followed by other bumps that look like boils. As the disease develops, the bumps turn into open sores that are slow to heal. Very rarely, the victim may develop pneumonia from inhaling fungal spores. Medical treatment is available for this disease. Sporotrichosis can be controlled by avoiding skin contact with sphagnum moss. This fungus is common in Wisconsin and, in 1988, a sporotrichosis epidemic that affected 84 people in 15 states was traced to sphagnum moss that came from a distributor in Wisconsin.