Sphagnum angustifolium |
Sphagnum squarrosum |
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fine bogmoss, poor-fen peat-moss, sphagnum |
rough peat moss, shaggy peat, sphagnum, spiky bog-moss, spread-leaf peat moss, spreading-leaf bog moss |
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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 robust, stiff; green, pale green, yellow-green; large terminal bud; typically as loose carpets in coniferous forests. |
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. |
green to red-brown; 2–3 superficial cortical layers.; stem leaves shorter than branch leaves, ovate-lingulate to oblong-lingulate, 1.6–1.8 × 1–1.2 mm; hyaline cells mostly nonseptate. |
Branches | straight to slightly curved, usually 5-ranked; leaves not much longer at distal end than proximal end. |
long and tapering with distinct squarrose spreading leaves, often terete in tundra forms. |
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. |
larger than stem leaves, 1.9–2.8 mm, conspicuously squarrose from ovate-hastate base and abruptly narrowed 1/2–1/3 distance from apex into involute-concave acumen, often terete in tundra forms; hyaline cells convex on both surfaces, non-ringed pores at ends and corners of cells, ringed pores on concave surface (4–8/cell) and nonringed pores (2–4/cell) on convex surface, internal commissural walls smooth or indistinctly papillose, chlorophyllous cells ovate triangular with widest part at or close to the convex surface. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
monoicous. |
Spores | 21–25 µm; coarsely papillose on proximal and distal surfaces; proximal laesura more than 0.5 spore radius. |
17–30 µm; proximal surface finely papillose, distal surface smooth with raised bifurcated Y-mark sculpture; proximal laesura more than 0.5 spore radius. |
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 2–3 pendent branches.; branch stems with 1–2 layers of cortical cells. |
Sphagnum angustifolium |
Sphagnum squarrosum |
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Phenology | Sporophytes abundant, capsules mature early to mid summer. | |
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 | Forming loose carpets in rich habitats such as wet coniferous forests, Thuja swamps, karrs, medium fens, and stream margins |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to high elevations |
Distribution |
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
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AK; AZ; CA; CO; CT; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OR; PA; SD; TN; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Eurasia; Pacific Islands (New Zealand)
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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.) |
In its typical robust form with strongly squarrose branch leaves, Sphagnum squarrosum is unmistakeable. Smaller forms such as occur in the higher mountains may be difficult to identify accurately without careful examination of microscopic details. In the tundra there sometimes occur large, terete forms of S. squarrosum but these are usually considerably more robust than S. teres. See also discussion under 14. S. strictum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 64. | FNA vol. 27, p. 59. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Squarrosa |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. recurvum var. angustifolium, S. amblyphyllum var. parvifolium, S. flexuosum var. tenue, S. parvifolium, S. recurvum var. parvifolium, S. recurvum var. tenue | S. squarrosum var. imbricatum |
Name authority | (Warnstorf) C. E. O. Jensen: Bih. Svenska Vetensk.-Akad. Handl. 16(9): 46. (1891) | Crome: Samml. Deut. Laubm., 24. (1803) |
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