Peat moss (Sphagnum angustifolium) - green variety
Peat moss (Sphagnum capillaceum) - red variety

Gitxsan name: umhlwx
Wet'suwet'en name:  yintl'akh yil (green), yin yil (red)

Botanical Description

• Green variety:
• green or yellowish, stem often reddish toward tip, large, loose carpets, tufted top
• stem leaves very small, broadly triangular, branch leaves lance shaped, flat and wavy, with tips that turn outward when dry
• found in hollows or depressions in open bogs, bog forests, seepage areas in upland coniferous forests
• low to subalpine elevations

• Red variety:
• red all over to red here and there or pinkish, 5-15 cm long, branches clumped near tip and distributed in bunches along stem
• plant forms upright compact cushions with "pom pom"-shaped heads
• long, concave and pointed stem leaves; branch leaves slender and pointed
• found on hummocks, in open or shady bogs, black spruce muskegs
• low to subalpine elevations

Ethnobotanical Use

When dry, peat moss can absorb large amounts of fluids, therefore it was used for bedding, sanitary napkins and baby diapers. The green variety was the preferred choice, as the Gitxsan thought the red variety was unclean or dirty. The Wet'suwet'en believed that the red variety caused bad sores.

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This digital collection was produced under contract to the SchoolNet Digital Collection Program, Industry Canada.
Revised: 07/17/98