Acadia National Park - Mosses

Acadia National Park by National Parks Service

If you find a bog in Acadia National Park you are sure to see Sphagnum (pronounced "sfagnum") moss. Mosses, like ferns, reproduce by spores. However, mosses don't have well-developed conductive tissue and therefore cannot move water and nutrients throughout their systems as effectively as ferns and other vascular plants. Because of this, mosses by necessity always grow in low mats in wet areas close to their nutrient source. Sphagnum species are common and come in shades of green, red and brown. Bog hummocks, which are small mounds of Sphagnum, often form to create an undulating bog surface. Each species of Sphagnum finds its own niche based on levels of soil moisture. Therefore, the species of Sphagnum growing on the top of the hummocks are usually different from the ones growing between the hummocks!