Cushion Moss

LEUCOBRYUM - CUSHION MOSS

Cushion Moss plant is also known as White Cushion Moss. It is a very common moss that grows like a ball to create a thick cushion like plant. It can become wide and only 3 inches tall. You can find this moss growing in moist woods and marshes, anywhere there is shade and water you will find this moss. Like all other mosses this moss has no flowers or roots, it absorbs water through the leaves, and these leaves are like little sponges. When this moss has an ample amount of water it will continue to stay fresh, but if the water source is cut off than the moss will turn to a whitish color, water and it will turn green. This moss can be used in your outdoor garden or natural area, and you can even use it inside a terrarium and aquarium. In the right growing conditions, it is the ideal cushion moss will continue to grow and develop. It is easy to grow and little maintenance. You can even find this moss growing on some wood and rocks; as long as these pieces have enough moisture available to the moss then it will become on them. Cushion moss grow in subarctic, arctic, subalpine, and alpine environments all around the world. They evolved from many different plant families that also endured harsh growing environments. New plants on windy slopes in exposed Arctic tundra are not common. Many of the plants that exist there are several hundred years old. These plants are several years old before they reproduce. It only grows when the climate is warm enough and sun is available. They typically grow in areas that have rocky or sandy soils they drain water off rapidly, which makes them colonizers of bare habitat. They particularly like to grow in the windy, harsh alpine slopes, and they become denser and smaller with higher elevation. Obtaining water is challenging where these plants grow, so they grow an extensive root system, taproots that grow about two feet underground. Water that comes to the alpine or subalpine regions comes from melted snow that seeps through shallow soil. The roots grow deep so as to retain water and sustain the plants through dry periods. The density of the cushion above also deters loss of water. The tightly packed foliage and stems trap heat from the sun and cause them to warm up by several degrees. The thick matted hairs on them also trap and heat the air that is caught there. These moss plants sometimes have hundreds of small flowers on them, which attract pollinators during a short growing season and over long distances. Domestically, they are commonly used in terrariums and in decorative gardens.