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fine bogmoss, poor-fen peat-moss, 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, weak-stemmed, lax; yellowish to golden brown; forming loose carpets; branches loosely imbricate.
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 short-rectangular, 0.8–1.1 mm, hyaline cells mostly non-septate and absent comb-fibrils.

Branches

straight to slightly curved, usually 5-ranked;

leaves not much longer at distal end than proximal end.

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 to ovate-elliptic, 1.4–1.8 mm;

hyaline cells on convex surface with numerous pores along the commissures;

comb-lamellae obvious only in proximal 1/2 of leaf; chlorophyllous cells broadly triangular in transverse section and well-enclosed on the convex surface.

Sexual condition

dioicous.

dioecious.

Spores

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

proximal laesura more than 0.5 spore radius.

(22) 24–27(–28) µm, surface granulate.

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 hanging branches.;

branch stems with hyaline cells non-ornamented, no or weak funnel-like projections on the end walls of cortical cells, cortical cell walls usually with large round pores.

Sphagnum angustifolium

Sphagnum imbricatum

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 Ecology poorly known
Elevation low to high elevations 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
AK
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.)

K. I. Flatberg (1984) considered Sphagnum imbricatum to be East Asian in distribution but a recent collection in Selawik National Wildlife Refuge places it in the North American flora. It will undoubtedly be found elsewhere. Sphagnum imbricatum is closest in morphological detail to S. steerei, but the latter is a very dark colored and densely branched species whereas S. imbricatum is quite light in color and not particularly dense.

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

Source FNA vol. 27, p. 64. FNA vol. 27, p. 52.
Parent taxa Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Sphagnum
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. angermanicum, 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. 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
Name authority (Warnstorf) C. E. O. Jensen: Bih. Svenska Vetensk.-Akad. Handl. 16(9): 46. (1891) Russow: Beitr. Torfm., 99. (1865)
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