The Latin suffix "pulchrum" means "beautiful", and indeed this is one of the most attractive of the Sphagnum mosses, with its regularly-arranged leaves and its deep orange-brown colour. It is exclusively a plant of raised bogs and occurs in wet depressions or pools, sometimes replacing the more common Sphagnum cuspidatum.

Sphagnum pulchrum is known from only three 10km squares in Wales. It can, however, be abundant where it does occur.