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{{SPlantbox
|genus=Moss
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|Temp Metric=°F
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{{Inc|
Moss. A general name for many humble green plants of the cryptogamia (so-called flowerless plants), mostly with distinct stems and foliage leaves. In North America there are about 1,000 species, distributed in various families. They have solitary, or rarely clustered, mostly stalked spore-cases or capsules arising from the apex or side of a leafy stem (Fig. 2402). The capsule is covered with a thin cap or calyptra (c) which is shed at maturity. The capsule opens by means of a lid or operculum (o), and the orifice is usually guarded by one or two rows of teeth, or peristome. A fuller discussion of the structure and relationships of the mosses will be found in Volume I, on page 6. The mosses are not horticultural plants. Sphagnum moss is much used as a packing material and for holding moisture about pots, and as a medium in which to sow delicate seeds, but it is collected from bogs and not grown for the purpose. Club-mosses are not true mosses but lycopodiums (see Lycopodium and Selaginella). The "moss" on fruit and other trees is mostly lichen. The Florida or Spanish moss is a flowering plant (see Tillansia).
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