Sphagnum capillifolium |
Sphagnum strictum |
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common red peat-moss, small red peat moss, sphagnum |
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 moderate-sized, pale green, yellow-green to occasionally strongly reddish; growing in loose mats. |
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 very small, less than 0.8 mm, triangular with blunt rounded apex. |
Branches | not 5-ranked, terete. |
erect in distal portion of plants. |
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. |
large, 2.8 mm or longer, sub-squarrose, ovate, involute to broad, truncate apex with more than 6 teeth; hyaline cells with up to 6 non-ringed pores on convex surface with few or no pseudopores, 2–4 elliptic ringed pores on concave surface in corners or along commissures, internal commissural walls minutely papillose (best viewed in oblique sections), rarely smooth; chlorophyllous cells narrowly triangular in transverse section, more broadly exposed on convex surface, enclosed on concave surface. |
Sexual condition | dioicous. |
monoicous. |
Capsule | with abundant pseudostomata on surface of capsule. |
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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. |
31–43 µm; coarsely papillose on both proximal and distal surfaces, raised Y-mark sculpture on distal surface; proximal laesura moderately long, 0.4–0.7 spore radius. |
Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches. |
fascicles with 2 short-spreading and 3 long-tapering pendent branches. |
Sphagnum capillifolium |
Sphagnum strictum |
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Phenology | Capsules mature mid summer. | Capsules common, mature early to 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 | Pioneer species among grasses on peaty sand, pine barrens, burned-over savannas, seeps in mountainous areas inland |
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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AL; FL; GA; LA; MD; ME; NC; NJ; SC; VA; NB; NF; NS; Europe |
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.) |
Though they seldom if ever overlap ecologically, Sphagnum strictum and S. squarrosum both usually have squarrose branch leaves, but S. squarrosum has a lingulate fringed stem leaf that differs greatly from the triangular and entire-margined stem leaf of S. strictum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 91. | FNA vol. 27, p. 56. |
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Acutifolia | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Rigida |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. palustre var. capillifolium, S. capillaceum, S. capillifolium var. viride, S. margaritae | S. compactum var. expositum, S. garberi, S. mexicanum |
Name authority | (Ehrhart) Hedwig: Fund. Hist. Nat. Musc. Frond. 2: 86. (1782) | Sullivant: Musc. Allegh., 201. (1846) |
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