Moss is so ordinary that it is easy to forget how long and how usefully people have relied on it. A short tour of the humble plant's working past.
Building and packing
For centuries moss chinked the gaps between the logs of cabins and the planks of boats, sealing out draughts and damp because it packs tight, holds a little moisture and resists rot. Dried moss stuffed mattresses, pillows and cushions, and padded all manner of goods in transit, including plants and bulbs sent long distances. Light, springy and free, it was the obvious material to hand.
The Iceman's moss
When the 5,000-year-old body known as Ötzi was found in the Alps, mosses were among the plant remains with him, including pieces that had no business growing where he died. They had been carried, used for packing or wrapping, and they help researchers trace where he had been. Even a Copper Age traveller had moss about his person.
Sphagnum and the wars
The best-known chapter is medical. Sphagnum, the bog moss, is highly absorbent and slightly acidic, which discourages bacteria, and it had been used on wounds for a very long time. When the First World War outran the supply of cotton dressings, sphagnum was gathered from bogs by the sackful, cleaned and sewn into dressings, and it genuinely saved lives. It is a striking thing to remember while looking at a patch of moss on a wall.