What does "moss" mean?

Moss: A bog; a morass; a place containing peat; as, the mosses of the Scottish border. Note: Moss is used with participles in the composition of words which need no special explanation; as, moss-capped, moss-clad, moss- covered, moss-grown, etc. Black moss. See under Black, and Tillandsia. -- Bog moss. See Sphagnum. -- Feather moss, any moss branched in a feathery manner, esp. several species of the genus Hypnum. -- Florida moss, Long moss, or Spanish moss. See Tillandsia. -- Iceland moss, a lichen. See Iceland Moss. -- Irish moss, a seaweed. See Carrageen. -- Moss agate (Min.), a variety of agate, containing brown, black, or green mosslike or dendritic markings, due in part to oxide of manganese. Called also Mocha stone. -- Moss animal (Zoöl.), a bryozoan. -- Moss berry (Bot.), the small cranberry (Vaccinium Oxycoccus). -- Moss campion (Bot.), a kind of mosslike catchfly (Silene acaulis), with mostly purplish flowers, found on the highest mountains of Europe and America, and within the Arctic circle. -- Moss land, land produced accumulation of aquatic plants, forming peat bogs of more or less consistency, as the water is grained off or retained in its pores. -- Moss pink (Bot.), a plant of the genus Phlox (P. subulata), growing in patches on dry rocky hills in the Middle United States, and often cultivated for its handsome flowers. Gray. -- Moss rose (Bot.), a variety of rose having a mosslike growth on the stalk and calyx. It is said to be derived from the Provence rose. -- Moss rush (Bot.), a rush of the genus Juncus (J. squarrosus). -- Scale moss. See Hepatica.

Additional senses

  1. 2.To cover or overgrow with moss. An oak whose boughs were mossed with age. Shak.

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