Sphagnum angustifolium
Sphagnum tenerum
fine bogmoss, poor-fen peat-moss, sphagnum
sphagnum
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 1.4–1.8 mm, elongate-triangular, lingulate-triangular, hemiisophyllous forms elongate triangular-ovate, 1.4–1.8 mm, apex usually conspicuously toothed, border narrow at base (less than 0.25 width);
hyaline cells narrowly rhombic to S-shaped, can be efibrillose and aporose but more commonly fibrillose and porose, 0–1-septate.
straight to slightly curved, usually 5-ranked;
leaves not much longer at distal end than proximal end.
turgid and terete, leaves, not 5-ranked.
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, 1.1–1.7 mm, slightly concave, straight, apex weakly involute and conspicuously toothed;
hyaline cells on the convex surface with round to elliptic pores along the commissures, grading from moderate-sized pores near apex to large pores at leaf base, concave surface with large round pores throughout.
dioicous.
uncertain, monoicous or dioicous or possibly both.
21–25 µm; coarsely papillose on proximal and distal surfaces;
proximal laesura more than 0.5 spore radius.
22–25 µm, finely roughened.
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 tenerum
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 are uncommon in Spagnum tenerum. The sexual condition is uncertain because of past taxonomic confusion with S. capillifolium (R. E. Andrus 1980). Sphagnum tenerum is usually described (incorrectly) as having hemiisophyllous stem leaves, and many collections of other species of sect. Acutifolia with such leaves have been called S. tenerum. When correctly characterized, S. tenerum is can be confused only with S. capillifolium, with which it has only a very small range overlap. Microscopically, besides the otherwise quite different S. angermanicum, S. tenerum is the only species of sect. Acutifolia with large round free pores in most of the branch leaf hyaline cells on their concave surfaces. See also discussion under 71. S. capillifolium. Sexual condition and spore features were taken from H. A. Crum (1984).
The name Sphagnum evansii Warnstorf has also been used for this taxon.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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