Sphagnum balticum |
Sphagnum centrale |
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Baltic peat-moss, Baltic sphagnum |
sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants small to moderate-sized, soft and ± weak-stemmed; brownish green, yellow-green, yellowish to golden brown, capitulum typically flat and 5-radiate. | Plants moderate-sized to robust, capitulum compact and well rounded in open-grown forms, lax to somewhat compact; green in shade forms to golden yellow to golden brown in open-grown forms, occasionally with a pinkish tinge; lawns, loose low hummocks to larger, ± firm hummocks. |
Stem(s) | leaves 0.8–1.1 mm, triangular-lingulate to lingulate, concave, spreading, apex broadly obtuse, hyaline cells fibrillose in apical region. |
leaves to 1.2–2.2 × 0.8–1 mm; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells non-ornamented, rarely septate, comb-lamellae absent. |
Branches | slender and tapering, often 5-ranked and decurved, leaves somewhat elongated at distal end. |
tapering, leaves spreading to somewhat imbricate. |
Branch leaves | ovate-lanceolate, 1–1.7 mm, straight, slightly undulate and spreading; margin entire, hyaline cells on convex surface with 1–5 pores in cell ends and free near apex, on concave surface with round wall thinnings in cell ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular in transverse section and well-enclosed on concave surface. |
broadly ovate, to 1.7 × 1.5 mm; hyaline cells non-ornamented, convex surface with elliptic to rarely round pores along the commissures; chlorophyllous cells lenticular to narrowly elliptical in transverse section, narrowly exposed on both ends, but more so on concave surface, end walls thickened at both ends. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Capsule | with inconspicuous pseudostomata. |
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Spores | 25–33 µm; smooth to finely papillose on both surfaces; proximal laesura approximately 0.5 spore radius. |
23–30 µm; surface finely roughened to smooth; laesura on proximal surface more than 0.5 spore radius. |
Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and mostly 1 pendent branch.; branch stem green, cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches.; branch stems with cortical cells non-ornamented, no or weak funnel-like projections on the interior end walls, often with large round pores on the superficial walls. |
Sphagnum balticum |
Sphagnum centrale |
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Phenology | Capsules uncommon, mature late summer. | |
Habitat | Abundant in hollows and floating mats in raised bogs and poor fens | Medium to rich fens, especially prominent in coniferous fens and sedge fens |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to high elevations |
Distribution |
AK; CO; AB; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia |
CT; IA; ID; IL; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; VT; WA; WI; AB; BC; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; Greenland; Eurasia
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Discussion | Unlike Sphagnum angustifolium and S. annulatum, S. balticum has stem leaves exerted at right angles to the stem. It also has fewer and weaker hanging branches than does S. angustifolium, which make the stem itself often visible and the stem leaves easier to see. Sphagnum balticum also lacks the paired pendent branch buds between the capitulum rays as seen in S. angustifolium. In Sphagnum kenaiense there are sometimes spreading stem leaves but this species has 2 hanging branches per fascicle. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sphagnum centrale is most similar to S. alaskense but seems to have no range overlap with that species and is also considerably more minerotrophic. In the field it lacks the often reddish tinge of S. palustre and is larger than S. affine. See also discussion under 2. S. alaskense and 9. S. papillosum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 65. | FNA vol. 27, p. 50. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. recurvum subsp. balticum | S. palustre subsp. intermedium, S. subbicolor |
Name authority | (Russow) C. E. O. Jensen: in Botaniske Forening København, Festskrift, 100. (1890) | C. E. O. Jensen: Bih. Kongl. Svenska. Vetensk.-Akad. Handl. 21(10): 34. (1896) |
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