Sphagnum balticum |
Sphagnum pulchrum |
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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, often quite dense and compact; green, brownish green, golden brown to dark brown; capitulum flat-topped and not especially 5-radiate. |
Stem(s) | leaves 0.8–1.1 mm, triangular-lingulate to lingulate, concave, spreading, apex broadly obtuse, hyaline cells fibrillose in apical region. |
leaves triangular to triangular-lingulate, 0.9–1.1 mm; appressed to spreading; apex apiculate, acute or narrowly obtuse, appressed to spreading; hyaline cells nonseptate and efibrillose. |
Branches | slender and tapering, often 5-ranked and decurved, leaves somewhat elongated at distal end. |
straight to more typically curved, typically stout and blunt ended; strongly 5-ranked, leaves not much elongate at distal end. |
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 to ovate-lanceolate, 1.4–1.8 mm; straight to often subsecund; weakly undulate and slightly recurved; hyaline cells on convex surface with 1 pore per cell at apical end of cell, on concave surface with round wall thinnings in the cells ends and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular to triangular-ovate in transverse section, very well-enclosed within concave surface. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Spores | 25–33 µm; smooth to finely papillose on both surfaces; proximal laesura approximately 0.5 spore radius. |
25–28 µm; roughly papillous on both surfaces; proximal laesura more than 0.5 the length of the spore. |
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 green but often reddish at proximal end, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
Sphagnum balticum |
Sphagnum pulchrum |
|
Habitat | Abundant in hollows and floating mats in raised bogs and poor fens | Abundant in poor fens and raised bogs, forming dense carpets at water level, especially on floating mats |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to moderate elevations |
Distribution |
AK; CO; AB; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia |
AK; CT; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; WI; WV; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Europe |
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 in Sphagnum pulchrum. With its distinctive broad and strongly 5-ranked branch leaves, It is one of our most easily recognized species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 65. | FNA vol. 27, p. 74. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. recurvum subsp. balticum | S. intermedium var. pulchrum |
Name authority | (Russow) C. E. O. Jensen: in Botaniske Forening København, Festskrift, 100. (1890) | (Lindberg) Warnstorf: Bot. Centralbl. 82: 42. (1900) |
Web links |