Sphagnum capillifolium |
Sphagnum balticum |
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common red peat-moss, small red peat moss, sphagnum |
Baltic peat-moss, Baltic sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants small to moderate-sized, compact to fairly slender, normally stiff and erect; capitulum typically hemispherical; in exposed sites red, mottled red and green, in shaded sites green forms are common; without metallic lustre when dry. | Plants small to moderate-sized, soft and ± weak-stemmed; brownish green, yellow-green, yellowish to golden brown, capitulum typically flat and 5-radiate. |
Stem(s) | green to red; superficial cortical cells aporose Stem leaves lingulate-triangular, 1.2–1.6(–1.8) mm, apex ± involute; border entire and broadened to about 0.25 the width of the base; hyaline cells S-shaped, 0–1-septate, usually fibrillose in distal portion of leaf. |
leaves 0.8–1.1 mm, triangular-lingulate to lingulate, concave, spreading, apex broadly obtuse, hyaline cells fibrillose in apical region. |
Branches | not 5-ranked, terete. |
slender and tapering, often 5-ranked and decurved, leaves somewhat elongated at distal end. |
Branch leaves | ovate-lanceolate, 1–1.4 mm, imbricate to moderately spreading, concave, straight, strongly involute near apex; hyaline cells on convex surface with elliptic pores along commissures, concave surface with large round pores away from commissures in proximal portions of leaf. |
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. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous. |
Spores | 20–28 µm; finely papillose on both surfaces, with distinct raised Y-shaped sculpture on distal surface; proximal laesura 0.5 spore radius or more. |
25–33 µm; smooth to finely papillose on both surfaces; proximal laesura approximately 0.5 spore radius. |
Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and mostly 1 pendent branch.; branch stem green, cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
Sphagnum capillifolium |
Sphagnum balticum |
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Phenology | Capsules mature mid summer. | |
Habitat | Ombrotrophic, broad range of acidic environments, also forming dense mats and carpets over wet, acidic rocks and peat, especially at higher elevations, less frequent in forested fen vegetation | Abundant in hollows and floating mats in raised bogs and poor fens |
Elevation | low to high elevations | low to high elevations |
Distribution |
AK; CA; CT; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; VA; VT; WA; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; NU; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; Greenland; Europe
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AK; CO; AB; BC; MB; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Eurasia |
Discussion | Sporophytes are fairly common in Sphagnum capillifolium. This species is most common and abundant in ombrotrophic heath vegetation associated with S. angustifolium, S. fallax, S. fuscum, S. magellanicum, S. rubellum, Polytrichum commune, and P. juniperinum. It can be distinguished from most other red species of sect. Acutifolia with which it co-occurs by its lack of 5-ranking in the branches. Sphagnum subtile is a forest and non-hummock forming species that has a distinctly shorter and more triangular-lingulate stem leaf. The stem leaf border on S. subtile is also more strongly bordered. Sphagnum tenerum, which geographically overlaps S. capillifolium only very minimally, has much more turgid branches and a generally more robust look. The stem leaf of S. tenerum is triangular-lingulate as compared to the lingulate- triangular stem leaf of S. capillifolium. See also discussion under 84. S. subnitens and 87. S. tenerum. The names Sphagnum acutifolium Schrader and S. nemoreum Scopoli (doubtful name) have also been used for this taxon. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 91. | FNA vol. 27, p. 65. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. palustre var. capillifolium, S. capillaceum, S. capillifolium var. viride, S. margaritae | S. recurvum subsp. balticum |
Name authority | (Ehrhart) Hedwig: Fund. Hist. Nat. Musc. Frond. 2: 86. (1782) | (Russow) C. E. O. Jensen: in Botaniske Forening København, Festskrift, 100. (1890) |
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