Sphagnum cuspidatum |
Sphagnum |
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feathery bog-moss, feathery peat-moss, tooth sphagnum |
sphagnum |
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Habit | Plants slender and weak-stemmed, moderate-sized, flaccid and plumose in aquatic forms to more compact in emergent forms, spreading branches often conspicuously falcate, giving capitulum a twisted appearance; green to yellow, often tinged with red, red-brown or brown in capitula. | Plants typically with upright stems, young branches arranged spirally around stem at growing apex into a capitulum, branches clustered into fascicles along stem, stem and branch leaves of alternating inflated, S-shaped to rhomboid hyaline cells and narrow linear chlorophyllous cells, hyaline cells typically fibrillose and porose on branch leaves. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stem(s) | leaves triangular-ovate, more than 1.2 mm, usually appressed; apex acute to apiculate, hyaline cells rarely septate or porose, apical region often fibrillose. |
leaves may be less fibrillose or efibrillose and less porose or aporose than the branch leaves, often septate, a distinct border of narrow linear chlorophyllous cells often along margins and at base, and with a greater width:length ratio than branch leaves in anisophyllous forms, partly differentiated in hemiisophyllous forms, and identical in isophyllous forms. |
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Branches | mostly unranked to weakly 5-ranked, often conspicuously falcate, leaves greatly elongated at distal end. |
typically dimorphic as spreading and pendent branches, but some species lack branches or branches are not clearly differentiated, pendent branches typically more slender than spreading branches and with a tendency to adhere to and cover the stem. |
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Branch leaves | ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, 1.6–5 mm, falcate toward branch tips, when dry often undulate and recurved, rarely weakly serrulate along the margins in submerged forms, leaves from middle of spreading branches with length to width ratio less than or equal to 1:0.28; hyaline cells length to width ratio in apical convex surface region 8:1 or more, convex surface with 0–1 small round pores at apex, concave surface with faint round wall thinnings in cell apices and angles; chlorophyllous cells triangular to trapezoidal in transverse section, broadly exposed on the convex surface and exposed slightly on the concave surface. |
with 2/5 phyllotaxy, of a 1-stratose network of alternating chlorophyllous and hyaline cells; hyaline cells usually S-shaped, rarely rhomboid, nearly always strengthened with conspicuous spiral fibrils, small to large, round to elliptic and sometimes ringed pores occur along commissures or rarely on cell lumen, convex surface typically with more pores per cell than concave surface; chlorophyllous cells may be enclosed on both surfaces, more broadly exposed on one surface or equally exposed on both surfaces as viewed in transverse section, adjacent cell walls typically smooth, but various types of cell wall projections may be clearly visible in transverse section. |
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Sexual condition | dioicous. |
dioicous or monoicous; stalked globose antheridia borne at the tips of branches usually with swollen colored tips of branches near capitulum; long-necked archegonia borne on short branches singly surrounded by perichaetial leaves that are typically longer than branch leaves. |
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Capsule | spherical, brown to black, lacking an annulus or peristome with a operculum convex; spore sac amphithecial in origin, over-arching columella. |
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Calyptra | membranous. |
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Spores | 29–38 µm; covered with large papillae on both surfaces, appearing pusticulate; proximal laesura less than 0.5 spore radius. |
tetrahedral, with prominent trilete mark, fine to coarse superficial surface, distal surface may have raised Y-mark, bifurcated Y-mark sculpture, or none. |
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Branch | fascicles with 2 spreading and 2–3 pendent branches.; branch stems green, but often pinkish at the proximal ends, with cortex enlarged with conspicuous retort cells. |
fascicles typically with 2 spreading and 1–2 pendent branches, but there may be up to 12(–14) per fascicle.; branch stems typically green, with a superficial layer of inflated retort cells; these grouped or solitary, usually porose at the distal end with a conspicuous or inconspicuous neck. |
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Protonema | typically 1-stratose, gametophyte developing from lateral margin. |
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Sphagnum cuspidatum |
Sphagnum |
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Habitat | Widespread forming wet carpets in ombrotrophic to weakly minerotrophic mires | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Elevation | low to moderate elevations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distribution |
AL; CT; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; NB; NF; NS; ON; QC; Europe
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Worldwide except Antarctica; primarily in boreal regions but also in cool; moist montane and oceanic habitats such as nutrient-poor and acidic wetlands and mires |
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Discussion | Distinguishing Sphagnum cuspidatum from S. viride is sometimes difficult, as both occur over a similar geographic range and both grow in wet carpets. Sphagnum cuspidatum has narrower branch leaves and usually a distinct red tinge at the branch bases within the capitulum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Species 285 (89 in the flora). The concept of species in Sphagnum is controversial. We have followed P. Isoviita (1966) and K. I. Flatberg (1994) in the recognition of species. H. A. Crum (1984) and others (R. E. Daniels and A. Eddy 1985; A. L. Andrews 1958, 1959) have adopted more conservative taxonomic concepts for species in the Northern Hemisphere. Description of the spores above is from Cao T. and D. H. Vitt (1986); for additional discussion of the protonema see C. B. McQueen (1988). Microscopic features can be observed by using a concentrated aqueous or alcohol solution of Crystal Violet. A 50% solution of alcohol and Methylene Blue or Safranin Red can be used, but these usually do not stain features such as minute pores, fibrils, wall thinnings, and surface sculpture on the chlorophyllous cells. The number and kinds of branches should be determined, individual stem and branch leaves (from the middle of a spreading branch) should be examined from the distal 2 cm of the plant, and the superficial surface of stem cortical cells as well as cross sections of branch leaves and stems may need examination. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 27, p. 66. | FNA vol. 27. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Parent taxa | Sphagnaceae > Sphagnum > sect. Cuspidata | Sphagnaceae | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Synonyms | S. cuspidatum var. plumosum, S. faxonii, S. virginianum | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Name authority | Hoffman: Deutschl. Fl. 2: 22. (1796) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 1106. (1753): Gen. Pl. ed. 5, 487. 1754 , | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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