Sphagnum balticum |
Sphagnum palustre |
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Baltic peat-moss, Baltic sphagnum |
blunt-leaf bogmoss, blunt-leaf peat-moss, prairie 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, strong-stemmed, lax to somewhat compact, capitulum somewhat flattened to more typically compact and rounded; green to golden brown to pale brown with often a pinkish tinge; carpets to more or less compact, low to moderate sized 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 1.7 × 1 mm, occasionally longer; rarely hemiisophyllous; hyaline cells non-ornamented, nonseptate. |
Branches | slender and tapering, often 5-ranked and decurved, leaves somewhat elongated at distal end. |
long and tapering, leaves ± imbricate to spreading in shade forms. |
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, 2.2 × 1.3 mm, hyaline cells non-ornamented, convex surface with elliptic pores along the commissures, chlorophyllous cells isosceles-triangular to ovate-triangular in transverse section and just enclosed to just exposed on the convex surface; end wall not thickened. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Capsule | with numerous pseudostomata. |
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Spores | 25–33 µm; smooth to finely papillose on both surfaces; proximal laesura approximately 0.5 spore radius. |
24–33 µm, surface finely papillose to smooth, distal surface with distinct bifurcated Y-mark sculpture; proximal laesura more than 0.6 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.; branch stems with hyaline cells non-ornamented; no or weak funnel-like projections on the interior end walls, often with 1 large pore per cell on superficial cell walls. |
Sphagnum balticum |
Sphagnum palustre |
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Phenology | Capsules mature mid to late summer. | |
Habitat | Abundant in hollows and floating mats in raised bogs and poor fens | Widespread in forested fens and poor to rich sedge fens |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK; CO; AB; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia |
AL; AR; CA; CT; DE; FL; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; OR; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; BC; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; Europe; Pacific Islands
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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 palustre may occur elsewhere than listed above, but the taxonomy is unclear. In some open-grown situations, it may have a reddish tinge and seem similar to S. magellanicum, but this is a pinkish red color rather than the purplish red of the latter. See discussions under 5. S. henryense and 9. S. papillosum for distinction from those species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 65. | FNA vol. 27, p. 53. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. recurvum subsp. balticum | S. cymbifolium |
Name authority | (Russow) C. E. O. Jensen: in Botaniske Forening København, Festskrift, 100. (1890) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1106. (1753) |
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