moss

Moss

(mos),

Gerald, U.S. physician, 1931-1973. See: Moss tube.

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Moss

(mos),

Melvin L., 20th-century U.S. oral pathologist. See: Gorlin-Chaudhry-Moss syndrome.

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moss

(mos),

1. Any low growing, delicate cryptogamous plant of the class Musci.

2. Popularly, any one of a number of lichens and seaweeds.

[A.S. meōs]

moss

Any low-growing green plant of the class Musci.

Iceland moss

An edible lichen, Cetraria islandica. It is a demulcent that has been promoted as a treatment for bladder, kidney and lung diseases.

Irish moss

1. Carrageen.

2. Carrageenan.

peat moss

1. Any moss of the large genus Sphagnum whose decomposed and compacted remains form peat. The moss is absorptive and acidic and inhibits growth of bacteria and fungi. Synonym: sphagnum moss

2. The decomposed and compacted remains of the mosses, used as a soil conditioner and as a dressing for wounds. It has also been used by some primitive people as a form of external menstrual protection. Synonym: sphagnum moss

sphagnum moss

Peat moss.

moss

any bryophyte of the class Musci. Usually these are small plants (less than 5 cm high) attached to moist or wet substrates by rhizoids; this is the SPOROPHYTE generation. The sexual organs are borne on a GAMETOPHYTE generation and the ANTHERIDIA and ARCHEGONIA are on separate leaf rosettes. The male gametes are motile and after fertilization a diploid sporophyte is produced, within which haploid spores are developed, each spore giving rise to a protonema from which the new gametophyte develops.