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fine bogmoss, poor-fen peat-moss, sphagnum

angerman's sphagnum

Habit Plants small and often slender and soft, lax to compact, moderately stiff-stemmed; green to pale yellow to golden brown to brown; capitulum strongly convex in drier grown forms to strongly 5-radiate and flat in wetter growing forms. Plants moderate-sized, soft and lax, capitulum large with head branches that are typically distinctively blunt and transversely flattened; usually pale green with a weak purplish coloration evident late in the growing season, often with a weak metallic luster when dry.
Stem(s)

leaves equilateral to isosceles-triangular, small, less than 0.8 mm, mostly appressed to stem, apex acute to obtuse, hyaline cells efibrillose and nonseptate.

leaves lingulate to spatulate, widest above middle (1.5 times as wide as the base), 1.5–2.5 mm, apex obtuse and dentate to lacerate;

border entire and little broadened at base, hyaline cells elongated-rhomboid, normally 1-septate, strongly fibrillose in distal portion, convex surface with numerous large pores and resorption gaps in apical angles, concave surface with large resorption gaps below and large resorption pores above.

Branches

straight to slightly curved, usually 5-ranked;

leaves not much longer at distal end than proximal end.

unranked, terete.

Branch leaves

narrowly ovate-lanceolate, 0.8–1 mm, straight, moderately undulate and recurved in larger and/or wetter grown forms, not undulate and slightly recurved in compact forms from drier sites;

margins entire;

hyaline cells on convex surface with 1(2–3) pore per cell at apical end of cell, on concave surface with round wall thinnings in cell ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular in transverse section and just enclosed on concave surface.

ovate, 1.3–2.5 mm, straight, not concave;

apex weakly involute, broadly truncate with 6–10 conspicuous teeth;

border entire;

hyaline cells on convex surface with elliptic pores (4–8 per cell) along the commissures, concave surface with large round pores in distal half and proximal portion of cells.

Sexual condition

dioicous.

dioicous.

Spores

21–25 µm; coarsely papillose on proximal and distal surfaces;

proximal laesura more than 0.5 spore radius.

26–34 µm; finely granulose-roughened.

Branch

fascicles with 2 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches.;

branch stems with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells, often pinkish red at proximal end.

fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.

Sphagnum angustifolium

Sphagnum angermanicum

Habitat Wide range of habitats, from ombrotrophic to rich fens, open mires, sedge fens and muskeg, as carpets, floating mats, low hummocks and hummock sides Minerotrophic, hydrophytic
Elevation low to high elevations low to moderate elevations
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; CO; ID; IL; IN; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
MA; ME; NH; NJ; NY; NB; NF; NS; QC; Europe
Discussion

The sporophytes of Sphagnum angustifolium are somewhat common. This species is distinguished from similar ones in sect. Cuspidata by the small, triangular, obtuse and appressed stem leaves. It also often has a pink stem, as opposed to the reddish branch bases seen in some other species of the section. Sphagnum balticum has stem leaves that are more lingulate-triangular as well as spreading from the stem. Sphagnum angustifolium belongs to a subgroup within sect. Cuspidata usually referred to as S. recurvum, in the broad sense, a group of mostly carpet-forming species that differ from other members of the section in having pairs of pendent branch buds visible between the capitulum rays. The group also includes S. brevifolium, S. fallax, S. flexuosum, S. pacificum, S. recurvum, S. rubroflexuosum, and S. splendens.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Sporophytes of Sphagnum angermanicum are rare. This is a species associated with typically poor fen species such as S. flavicomans, S. bartlettianum, S. papillosum, S. pulchrum, and S. rubellum. It is usually easily recognized by its pale color and blunt, short and flattened capitulum branches, and also is limited to wetter microsites than most species of sect. Acutifolia and rarely forms hummocks. Spore characters are taken from H. A. Crum (1984).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 27, p. 64. FNA vol. 27, p. 89.
Parent taxa Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia
Sibling taxa
S. affine, S. alaskense, S. andersonianum, S. angermanicum, S. annulatum, S. aongstroemii, S. arcticum, S. atlanticum, S. austinii, S. balticum, S. bartlettianum, S. beothuk, S. bergianum, S. brevifolium, S. capillifolium, S. carolinianum, S. centrale, S. compactum, S. contortum, S. cribrosum, S. cuspidatum, S. cyclophyllum, S. fallax, S. fimbriatum, S. fitzgeraldii, S. flavicomans, S. flexuosum, S. fuscum, S. girgensohnii, S. henryense, S. imbricatum, S. inexspectatum, S. inundatum, S. isoviitae, S. jensenii, S. junghuhnianum, S. kenaiense, S. lenense, S. lescurii, S. lindbergii, S. macrophyllum, S. magellanicum, S. majus, S. mcqueenii, S. mendocinum, S. microcarpum, S. mirum, S. mississippiense, S. molle, S. obtusum, S. oregonense, S. orientale, S. pacificum, S. palustre, S. papillosum, S. perfoliatum, S. perichaetiale, S. platyphyllum, S. portoricense, S. pulchrum, S. pylaesii, S. quinquefarium, S. recurvum, S. riparium, S. rubellum, S. rubiginosum, S. rubroflexuosum, S. russowii, S. sitchense, S. splendens, S. squarrosum, S. steerei, S. strictum, S. subfulvum, S. subnitens, S. subsecundum, S. subtile, S. talbotianum, S. tenellum, S. tenerum, S. teres, S. torreyanum, S. trinitense, S. tundrae, S. viride, S. warnstorfii, S. wilfii, S. wulfianum
S. affine, S. alaskense, S. andersonianum, S. angustifolium, S. annulatum, S. aongstroemii, S. arcticum, S. atlanticum, S. austinii, S. balticum, S. bartlettianum, S. beothuk, S. bergianum, S. brevifolium, S. capillifolium, S. carolinianum, S. centrale, S. compactum, S. contortum, S. cribrosum, S. cuspidatum, S. cyclophyllum, S. fallax, S. fimbriatum, S. fitzgeraldii, S. flavicomans, S. flexuosum, S. fuscum, S. girgensohnii, S. henryense, S. imbricatum, S. inexspectatum, S. inundatum, S. isoviitae, S. jensenii, S. junghuhnianum, S. kenaiense, S. lenense, S. lescurii, S. lindbergii, S. macrophyllum, S. magellanicum, S. majus, S. mcqueenii, S. mendocinum, S. microcarpum, S. mirum, S. mississippiense, S. molle, S. obtusum, S. oregonense, S. orientale, S. pacificum, S. palustre, S. papillosum, S. perfoliatum, S. perichaetiale, S. platyphyllum, S. portoricense, S. pulchrum, S. pylaesii, S. quinquefarium, S. recurvum, S. riparium, S. rubellum, S. rubiginosum, S. rubroflexuosum, S. russowii, S. sitchense, S. splendens, S. squarrosum, S. steerei, S. strictum, S. subfulvum, S. subnitens, S. subsecundum, S. subtile, S. talbotianum, S. tenellum, S. tenerum, S. teres, S. torreyanum, S. trinitense, S. tundrae, S. viride, S. warnstorfii, S. wilfii, S. wulfianum
Synonyms S. recurvum var. angustifolium, S. amblyphyllum var. parvifolium, S. flexuosum var. tenue, S. parvifolium, S. recurvum var. parvifolium, S. recurvum var. tenue S. nemoreum var. angermanicum
Name authority (Warnstorf) C. E. O. Jensen: Bih. Svenska Vetensk.-Akad. Handl. 16(9): 46. (1891) Melin: Svensk Bot. Tidskr. 13: 21. (1919)
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