In swampy areas and areas with high humidity and shade, it is difficult not to notice the bright green moss rugs. In the forest zone, sphagnum moss is widespread, which is translated from Greek as "sponge".
Sphagnum moss. Description
In the process of plant growth, erect unbranched shoots are formed, gathering in dense turf like pillows. Their height is small - usually no higher than 5-6 centimeters. As such, sphagnum does not have a stem; it is replaced by phyllidia and caulidia. There are gaps between these elements of the plant, which literally absorb the water and salts that the moss needs to live.
Phyllidia consist of only one cell layer. The third element of sphagnum - rhizoids are the roots of the plant. These highly branching thin threads suck water out of the soil. As is typical for sphagnum, rhizoids cease to absorb liquid over time and play only the role of support for the plant.
Sphagnum moss. Life cycle
As in all vascular representatives of the plant world, in sphagnum there is an alternation of the sexual generation (gametophyte) with asexual (sporophyte). The photosynthesizing green plant is a gametophyte. It has male and female gametes, which give rise to a sporophyte that emerges from a zygote - a fertilized egg.
Sporophytes - the spore generation do not separate and remain with the gametophyte, feeding on it. In each of their cells there is a double set of chromosomes, in gametes - one. Sporophyte develops in the process of meiosis - cell division. As a result, each dispute becomes sexually endowed again. It grows into a single gametophyte.
Sphagnum moss. Application
Sphagnum has a number of useful properties that people have learned to use. Back in the 11th century, moss began to be used in medicine as a dressing material; with its hygroscopic properties, it replaced cotton wool. Sphagnum was widely used on the battlefields during the First World War, as it quickly absorbed blood, pus and other fluids.
Even now, some pharmaceutical companies produce sphagnum moss tampons and dressing wipes. In the composition of the plant, sphagnol was found - a phenol-like compound that has a disinfectant, bactericidal and antifungal effect. Sphagnum also contains humic acids with the properties of a natural antibiotic.
Sphagnum insoles are also popular among consumers, which help well against foot fungus. If you have lesions of an infectious nature on the skin of the body, baths with infusion of sphagnum will help. Also, this moss is often used to fill mattresses and diapers. This is especially useful for seriously ill bedridden patients, as it allows you to fight pressure sores.
Sphagnum is also used in plant growing for easier and more comfortable growing of shoots and to protect plantings from frost.
