And yet moss — unassuming and literally underfoot — has long been overlooked by Western naturalists. In fact, some of the most popular plants known as moss are not actually mosses (Irish moss belongs to the carnation family; Spanish moss is a bromeliad). SOPHIA MORENO-BUNGE, the founder of the Los Angeles floral design studio Isa Isa, especially enjoys working with Spanish moss around the holidays. In Los Angeles, moss can be hard to come by, but farther north, it’s a defining element of the landscape. The Portland, Ore.-based floral designer Françoise Weeks uses several types to create her abstract woodland wall sculptures, which also feature curling bark, dried seed pods and wildflowers.

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Persons: Emily Thompson, “ Moss, ”, “, they’ve, Wall Kimmerer, Moss, Kimmerer, SOPHIA MORENO, BUNGE, Isa Isa, Maurice Sendak, Kelly Wearstler, Françoise Weeks, Weeks Organizations: New York Locations: Kingdom, New York, Angeles, Los Angeles, Portland, Pacific