Sphagnum is commonly known as “peat moss” due to its role in forming peat deposits in bogs.

Option Breakdown

Funaria

Funaria, a moss genus, is called cord moss and grows on disturbed soil; it lacks peat-forming ability.​

Anthoceros

Anthoceros, a hornwort, forms slender horn-like sporophytes on thalli but produces no peat.​

Riccia

Riccia, a thalloid liverwort, thrives in damp soil with short-lived sporophytes; no peat association.​

Sphagnum

Sphagnum mosses dominate peatlands, where dead material accumulates as acidic peat used in horticulture.

Introduction

Sphagnum is commonly known as “peat moss” among bryophytes like Funaria, Anthoceros, and Riccia, prized for its water-holding peat in horticulture.

Peat Formation Process

Sphagnum’s dead tissues resist decay in waterlogged, acidic bogs, building peat layers over millennia—unlike other mosses.​

Bryophyte Comparison