Our Ancient Relationship with Moss

In the UK, humans have a rich and ancient history with mosses. With the incredible properties of mosses, it is no wonder that we owe to them our survival in day-to-day and dire situations, as well as the development of our cultural practices and advances in modern science.

Image description: common tamarisk moss on a tree. A mitten-ed hand is poking out of a bright yellow raincoat and softly touching this feathery moss that is in all shades of dark yellow and soft green. Behind it is a winter scene of young trees and bushes; a mass of twigs without leaves.

WHAT IS MOSS?

Mosses have been on this planet for hundreds of millions of years; they are flowerless plants without true roots that often grow in clumps on trees or form green carpets on woodland floors. Mosses have a range of adaptions, including the ability to thrive in deserts, low draining environments, poor soil nutrition and exposed rocky ledges.

As colonising plants, mosses are one of the first plants to grow in places with bare land, such as landslide sites, and disturbed ecosystems, such as those that have suffered from forest fires. Mosses also help other plants to thrive; by stabilising soils and making conditions humid by retaining water. They can even stabilise soil temperatures too, protecting tree roots and soils from extreme temperature changes. As a microhabitat, they provide a place for insect eggs to hatch and for the tiniest of organisms to hunt.

Image description: common hair cap moss. It is bright, dark green on a fallen log in an ancient forest. From above it looks like stars with long, pointy ends on tall stems. A few brown leaves have fallen on it and stayed there amongst the thick mat of moss on the long, thin log.

MODERN USES

As discussed, moss is an important component to many ecosystems as it benefits many other plants; but did you know that mosses can be used as environmental indicators, too? As mosses get most of their nutrients from the air and rain, they are a useful indicator to air pollution, specifically increased nitrogen concentrations which can harm ecosystems when it overloads the soils. So surveys on elements found in moss are a great indicator of the overall health of the local environment.

Popular in environmentally conscious architecture, moss rooves and gardens are a great way to decrease a home’s carbon footprint, as mosses are a fantastic carbon store that need little attention or maintenance. As a beautiful aesthetic, mosses are sought-after for floristry arrangements, artistic gardens and modern crafts.

Moss has long been important, and still is, for whisky production in Scotland. It is used in the malting process to add the ‘smoky’ flavour, which is achieved by burning peat material (including moss). Although as these peat bog ecosystems are ancient and cannot be regrown, this is a practice that is threatening the ancient ecosystems and unique crafts in Scotland. However, peat moss farming is an up-and-coming area of research, hoping to reverse the adverse effects of climate change, and may save the traditional whisky industry.

Other new advancements in biotechnology means that the first drug sourced from moss has passed the first stages of the clinical trials, and it is also a natural resource component in the cosmetics industry.

Image description: an up-close picture of sphagnum moss. It is a light, soft green carpet made of flower-like structures with a brown centre and long, fluffy, feathery petals. Brown leaves, old stalks and stick-like green plants litter this green carpet of moss on a woodland floor.

ANCIENT USES

Moss has long saved lives throughout our history, in many ways. As a basic means of survival when an obvious water source is scarce, mosses can be squeezed to release water thanks to their spongy nature. Many species are edible, too, and some even have medicinal properties; Spanish moss has been found to alleviate rheumatism symptoms.

Fire is also a traditional means of survival and moss has long been used as a fire starter, as it is extremely flammable when dead or after being purposely dried out. That is not the only way that mosses have kept us warm though, as it is naturally insulating it can be used to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer when used in housing or as an alternative packing material.

Ancient Irish-Gaelic warriors used sphagnum (peat) moss to pack their wounds, which was re-discovered by WWI surgeons as cotton and bandage supplies dwindled rapidly, leaving soldiers vulnerable to sepsis. As mosses prefer and create acidic pH conditions, bacteria cannot thrive, providing a clean wound packing material that is bacterially-resistant. A further benefit of using sphagnum moss was that, as long as the peat underneath was left undamaged and not trampled by frequent moss drives (outings to gather the packing material), it was a renewable resource*.

How amazing is that? A rich, cultural history with our natural environment which kept our ancestors alive and thriving. A type of knowledge that holds us closer to nature, to live as part of it, and not as a disconnected component. I urge you to slowly rewild your life, by learning ancient knowledge and skills, to reconnect ourselves to the earth, our traditional culture and where we came from.

[*Note: currently peat bogs are over-exploited which is creating irreversible damage to the ecosystem and releasing long-stored carbon. Peat is often used for gardening, in compost, so if you would like to reduce your impact on the environment, use peat-free compost.]

Sources:

Royal Botanical Gardens Kew (Ellen Mchale), 2020: https://www.kew.org/read-and-watch/moss

Moss Lovers, 2022: https://mosslovers.com/uses-of-moss-9-ways-moss-can-be-used/

Smithsonian Magazine (Lorraine Boissoneault) 2017, : https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-humble-moss-helped-heal-wounds-thousands-WWI-180963081/

Plant-Ark, 2022: https://www.plant-ark.com/about-plants/ferns-mosses/importance-of-moss.html

Peatlands, 2019: https://peatlands.org/assets/uploads/2019/06/ipc2008p106-108-godsman-importance-of-peat-for-whiskey-production.pdf

Current Opinion in Biotechnology (Eva Decker and Ralf Reski), 2020: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0958166919300965

Natural Environment Research Council (Adele Walker), 2010: https://nerc.ukri.org/planetearth/stories/819/