The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Baltic peat-moss, Baltic sphagnum

brown-stem peat-moss, Lindberg's sphagnum

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 large, moderately densely branched; green to brown, often bluish tinged and/or shiny when dry; capitulum flattopped with a conspicuous terminal bud.
Stem(s)

leaves 0.8–1.1 mm, triangular-lingulate to lingulate, concave, spreading, apex broadly obtuse, hyaline cells fibrillose in apical region.

leaves lingulate-spatulate, large, 1.3–1.6 mm; appressed to stem;

apex very broad and lacerate;

hyaline cells efibrillose and aporose, often septate.

Branches

slender and tapering, often 5-ranked and decurved, leaves somewhat elongated at distal end.

strongly 5-ranked and straight.

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.

ovate-lanceolate, 1.5–3 mm; straight to slightly subsecund; imbricate to somewhat reflexed and not undulate;

margins entire;

hyaline cells long and narrow, length to width ca. 10:1 on convex surface with 1 or more small pores in the cell ends and angles and often with numerous pseudopores along the margins, on concave surface with large round wall thinnings on the cell ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular to trapezoidal in transverse section, apex often exposed on concave surface.

Sexual condition

dioicous.

monoicous or dioicous.

Spores

25–33 µm; smooth to finely papillose on both surfaces;

proximal laesura approximately 0.5 spore radius.

22–34 µm;

both surfaces smooth, apparent ridged border on proximal surface;

proximal laesura 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 2 pendent branches, leaves not much elongated at distal end.;

branch stems green, with cortex enlarged with retort cells.

Sphagnum balticum

Sphagnum lindbergii

Habitat Abundant in hollows and floating mats in raised bogs and poor fens Widespread forming carpets in ombrotrophic to weakly minerotrophic boreal mires
Elevation low to high elevations low to high elevations
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; AB; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
from FNA
AK; CO; NH; NY; WA; AB; BC; MB; NF; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia
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.)

Sporophytes are uncommon. Sphagnum lindbergii is normally easily distinguished from other carpet-forming species of sect. Cuspidata by its large, strongly lacerate stem leaf and dark brown to black stem. Sexual condition is taken from from L. I. Savicz-Lubitzkaya and Z. N. Smirnova (1968).

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

Source FNA vol. 27, p. 65. FNA vol. 27, p. 70.
Parent taxa Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata
Sibling taxa
S. affine, S. alaskense, S. andersonianum, S. angermanicum, S. angustifolium, S. annulatum, S. aongstroemii, S. arcticum, S. atlanticum, S. austinii, 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. imbricatum, S. inexspectatum, S. inundatum, S. isoviitae, S. jensenii, S. junghuhnianum, S. kenaiense, S. lenense, S. lescurii, 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 subsp. balticum
Name authority (Russow) C. E. O. Jensen: in Botaniske Forening København, Festskrift, 100. (1890) Schimper: Öfvers. Kongl. Vetensk.-Akad. Förh. 14: 126. (1857)
Web links