https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/205188423
While looking for uses for this moss I came across this publication from a lab based out of the University of Victoria; this moss is known to grow in moist coniferous forests from low to subalpine elevations, it grows on forest floors by covering other species to become dominant over decomposing logs and rocks (Fretwell). It is used most often for decoration in store window displays and hanging baskets (Fretwell). It was quite short but there was more to find within the Alaska state publications.
The lanky moss is part of a collection of organisms called bryophytes which are very simple green plants that produce no flowers, have no true root system or complex vasculature, do not make seeds, and have no woody tissue (“Mosses and Liverworts of the National Forests in Alaska”). There are an estimated eight or nine thousand true moss species worldwide and approximately 620 of them can be found in Alaska (“Mosses and Liverworts of the National Forests in Alaska”). Mosses have been used for filling the gaps between logs of log cabin homes, lining cooking pits for steaming food and steam wood bending, for padding and bedding, floral arrangements, garden decorations, removing the exterior slime from fish, and some curative teas in China (“Mosses and Liverworts of the National Forests in Alaska”). It is also the dominant ground cover in lowland and montane forests (“Mosses and Liverworts of the National Forests in Alaska”).
I have watched plenty of survivor television shows such as Alone and Survivor and I can say that I have seen them use moss many times to act as a ground cover for their initial bedding. Having that material offer a gap between the dirt and your body is good insulation to help keep you from freezing overnight. The modern air bed mattresses are much more comfortable for me though when camping. The most interesting thing I read about though is that they don’t produce seeds or flowers at all, it does make a bit of sense as I have never seen flowers on them in all my time in Alaska. That this one grows along the ground like peat moss makes me think that it too could hide holes that someone might accidentally step in and be gone without leaving behind any trace.
Works Cited
Fretwell, Kelly. “Lanky Moss • Rhytidiadelphus Loreus.” Edited by Brian Starzomski, Biodiversity of the Central Coast, The Starzomski Lab: Research and Teaching, 2013, www.centralcoastbiodiversity.org/lanky-moss-bull-rhytidiadelphus-loreus.html. Accessed 05 Apr. 2024.
“Mosses and Liverworts of the National Forests in Alaska.” United States Department of Agriculture, Tongass National Forest Botany and Ecology Program, Chugach National Forest, Forest Service Alaska Region, Sept. 2008, www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_069239.pdf. Accessed 05 Apr. 2024.