Sphagnum is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses. Individual sphagnum plants consist of a main stem, with tightly arranged clusters of branch fascicles usually consisting of two or three spreading branches and two to four hanging branches. The top of the plant, or capitulum, has compact clusters of young branches. Along the stem are scattered leaves of various shapes, named stem leaves; the shape varies according to species. Sphagnum mosses occur mainly in the Northern Hemisphere in peat bogs, conifer forests, and moist tundra areas. In the Southern Hemisphere, Peat areas can found in southern Chile , Argentina, part of the vast Magellanic moorland and New Zealand, Tasmania and "dripping rocks" in mountainous, subtropical Brazil.