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common red peat-moss, small red peat moss, sphagnum
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flat-leaf peat-moss, sphagnum
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| 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, unbranched or sparsely branched; green, golden brown to brown, capitulum small with a large and conspicuous terminal bud. |
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 broadly ovate, 1.2–2.2 mm; straight; apex rounded; hyaline cells non-septate, convex surface with numerous small pores (less than or equal to 1/6 cell diameter) forming a continuous row along the commissures, concave surface aporose or with a few scattered pores along the commissures and cell ends. |
not 5-ranked, terete. |
short and blunt, sometimes lacking completely and plants simplex. |
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. |
broadly ovate, 1.4–2.5(–3) mm; straight; apex rounded; hyaline cells as in stem leaf. |
dioicous. |
dioicous. |
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exserted, with few pseudostomata. |
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. |
23–35 µm; papillose on both surfaces, with indistinct Y-mark sculpture on distal surface; proximal laesura 0.5 spore radius or less. |
fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches. |
fascicles of 1–3 branches, 1–2 of these spreading, branches usually not numerous. |
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| Capsules mature mid summer. |
Capsules mature late spring to early summer. |
| 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 |
Typically growing in minerotrophic habitats such as shores of lakes, ponds, streams, flarks of string mires, margins of open fens, especially seasonally flooded sites |
| low to high elevations |
low to high elevations |
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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; AZ; CA; CO; CT; IN; MA; ME; MI; MN; MT; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; RI; VT; WI; WY; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; ON; QC; YT; South America; Greenland; Eurasia |
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.) |
Sporophytes are uncommon in Sphagnum platyphyllum, which can be quite variable in size and the development of branch fascicles, with some forms even being simplex while other forms may have up to three branches per fascicle. The species can usually be recognized by the large stem leaves that are spreading and easily visible because of the scarcity of hanging branches. It should also be noted that in this species and S. contortum the 2–3-layered stem cortex is not an entirely consistent trait, as plants quite typical in all other respects are occasionally found with the cortex only 1-layered, at least in part. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
| FNA vol. 27, p. 91. |
FNA vol. 27, p. 83. |
| Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia |
Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Subsecunda |
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. 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. 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. 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. palustre var. capillifolium, S. capillaceum, S. capillifolium var. viride, S. margaritae |
S. laricinum var. platyphyllum, S. contortum var. platyphyllum, S. subsecundum var. platyphyllum |
| (Ehrhart) Hedwig: Fund. Hist. Nat. Musc. Frond. 2: 86. (1782) |
(Lindberg) Warnstorf: Flora 67: 481. (1884) |
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