Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am giving this product a low score primarily because the contents are not what the company claims they are. The package and the advertising indicates this is SPHAGNUM moss. It is not Sphagnum moss. I knew by just looking at it when I received the product that it was not Sphagnum (I am an academician who specializes in peatlands and plant ecology). I confirmed my suspicion by examining the mosses under a dissecting microscope. What is being marketed as Sphagnum are actually mosses of the family Amblystegiaceae (e.g. Drepanocladus, Campylium, Scorpidium, etc.). This is significant for potential buyers for two reasons: First, while absorbent, these mosses do not have nearly the absorptive qualities that Sphagnum mosses have (up to 30 times their own weight in water due to specialized cells called hyaline cells). Secondly, and more importantly mosses of the Amblysteigiaceae are typically alkaliphiles, meaning they prefer mineral-rich environments, and thus moss taken from these environments can contain high quantities of minerals (there was even some mineral substrate present in the package). Sphagnum is an acidophile and even generates acidity. The reason this last point is important to potential buyers is that if one is buying this for mineral-sensitive plants, such as many of the carnivorous plants, it could be potentially harmful to them. Coarse / whole Sphagnum moss is very easy to distinguish from all other mosses, even by casual observers. This product is not Sphagnum and therefore should not be marketed as such. It might be more appropriate to call it "peat moss". Other than the misrepresentation of the specific contents, this product should be fine for most horticultural and decorative purposes. But I do not recommend it to buyers who might use it for sensitive carnivorous plants or who need Sphagnum moss specifically.