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Aquatic Plant Identification Manual for Washington's Freshwater Plants

Aquatic Mosses

Aquatic mosses are small plants with delicate stems and small closely overlapping leaves. These plants can have branched, stem-like, and root-like structures. Unlike most other plants described in the manual, the aquatic mosses never produce flowers. Aquatic mosses are often seen growing attached to rocks in mountain streams, but they also grow in the shallow to moderately deep water of lakes.

The following are aquatic moss species. Links below lead to written descriptions, photographs, and line drawings.

• Fontinalis antipyretica - Common Water Moss
• Sphagnum spp. - Peat Moss